// .  ^  7,  /  h 


■^ 


^% 


^  ti|C  SifiMJiastra/  ^ 


*■«/. 


'« 


PRINCETON,  N.J. 


% 


BR  121  .M372  1867 
Marcy,  E.  E.  1815-1900. 
Christianity  and  its 
conflicts,  ancient  and 


•c'j; 


^o\| ' '  i9ifi 


<^. 


CHRISTIAN  lTY^^-~2£!WLir^ 


AND    ITS    CONFLICTS, 


ANCIENT   AND    MODERN. 


BY 


E.  E.  MAKCY,  A.  M. 


NEW   YORK: 
D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY, 

443    &    445    BROADWAY, 
1867. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Cougress,  in  the  ycai*  1S67,  by 

D.  APPLETON  &  Co. 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 

District  of  New  York. 


PEE FACE. 


In"  offering  the  present  volume  to  the  public,  the  author 
has  aimed  to  display  Christianity  as  it  was  established  by 
Jesi^,  as  it  has  been  developed  and  perpetuated  by  the  apos- 
tles and  their  successors,  and  to  correct  the  erroneous  impres- 
sions which  so  generally  exist  respecting  it.  He  has  also 
endeavored  to  exhibit  a  general  outline  of  the  various  con- 
flicting elements  which  have  been  arrayed  against  the  Chris- 
tian system  up  to  the  present  time.  We  have  written  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  vindicating  truth,  and  the  religion  of 
Christ.  In  all  instances  our  standard  of  comparison  has  been 
that  Divine  Code  which  was  instituted  l5y  our  Saviour  in 
the  ISTevf  Dispensation.  Before  this  infallible  standard  we 
have  fearlessly  arraigned  the  anti-Christian  speculations  and 
theories  of  the  world,  and  have  thus  analyzed  and  judged 
them. 

Such  a  course  is  calculated  to  provoke  scA^ere  criticisms 
of  the  work  itself,  and  denunciations  of  its  author.  But  if 
we  Bhall  succeed  in  arresting  the  attention  of  imj)artial  and 
candid  men,  in  diverting  them  from  error  to  truth,  and  in 
checking,  to  some  extent,  the  fearful  tide  of  skej^ticism  and 
irreligion  which  now  pervades  society,  and  threatens  to  sub- 


IV  PREFACE. 

vert  the  fundamental  principles  of  religion,  our  object  will 
be  accomjDlished. 

Our  data  have  been  derived  from  universally  accepted 
authorities  like  Josephus,  Eusebius,  Hume,  Gibbon,  Las 
Casas,  Bossuet,  Balmes,  Hallam,  De  Haller,  Dollinger, 
Macaulaj,  Guizot,  Bancroft,  White,  Barry,  Taylor,  Allies, 
and  other  standard  sources.  We  have  taken  special  care  to 
procure  our  facts  from  these  reputable  authors  in  order  to 
avoid  all  pretexts  of  cavil  or  dissent  against  our  premises. 

In  alluding  to  the  opinions  and.  doctrines  of  individuals, 
we  have  endeavored,  as  far  as  possible,  to  permit  each  one 
to  express  his  sentiments  in  his  own  language,  in  order  that 
a  better  judgment  may  be  formed  respecting  the  justice  of 
our  inferences  and  conclusions. 

We  are  aware  that  many  of  our  ideas  are  in  direct  an- 
tagonism with  those  of  numerous  loved  and  respected  friends ; 
and  the  expression  of  them  has  caused  us  many  pangs.  But 
an  earnest  and  sincere  conviction  of  right  and  duty  has 
impelled  us  onward,  and  finally  triumphed  over  our  jorivate 
feelings  and  interests.  The  book  has  been  written  in  the 
midst  of  arduous  professional  avocations,  and  has  therefore 
very  humble  pretensions  as  a  literary  effort.  The  author 
simply  claims  that  he  has  written  with  a  view  to  subserve 
the  cause  of  truth,  justice,  and  human  happiness. 


CONTEISITS. 


CHAPTER  I.— Condition  of  tue  Wohld  at  the  Time  of  the  Bikth  of  Christ. 

The  human  mind  at  that  period  chiefly  nndcr  the  control  of  pagan  idolatry,  Pan- 
theism, and  the  Epicurean  pliilosophy,  1.— Plato  and  other  exponents  of  these 
systems,  2. — The  ancient  philosophers  had  no  true  ideas  of  a  supreme  personal 
God,  3. — Their  rules  of  individual  conduct  formed  only  with  reference  to  the 
wants  and  interests  of  the  present  life,  5. — The  individual  man  not  respected, 
7. — Influence  of  Christianity  in  demanding  radical  reforms  in  human  conduct 
and  governments,  8. — Eoman  institutions  and  religious  ideas,  9. — Moral  and 
social  condition  of  the  people  ;  individual  rights,  12.— Condition  of  women,  10. 
Their  degradation,  13. — Moral  condition  of  the  Jews,  15. — Influence  of  Paganism 
on  them,  16. — General  influence  of  Christianity,  17. — The  teaching  of  Christ,  18. 
— The  establishment  of  His  Church,  20. — Its  perpetuity,  22. — Its  obscurity,  23. — 
He  requires  unconditional  faith  and  obedience,  25. — Views  of  M.  Guizot  re- 
specting the  early  Christian  Church,  21.— Answer  to  M.  Guizot,  21-24.— Object 
of  religion,  27.— Form  of  doctrine,  28.— Influence  of  the  apostles  and  early 
fathers,  29. — Human  brotherhood,  31. 

CHAPTER  n.— DocTEiNES  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

God  as  manifested  under  the  old  and  new  dispensations  ;  ancient  ideas,  32. — The 
finite  intelligence  cannot  comprehend  the  Infinite,  35. — God  reveals  Himself  to 
men  through  His  wonderful  works,  35— and  His  prophets,  37.— Christ's  Incarna- 
tion, 33.— His  divinity,  34.— Jewish  ideas  of  the  Supreme  Being  imperfect,  30. — 
The  prophets,  39-41. — The  new  dispensation,  43.— God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  or 
God  in  Christ,  44.— Christ  truly  God  in  direct  communication  with  mankind,  45. 
— He  is  the  true  object  of  worship,  46. — He  is  the  embodiment  and  impersona- 
tion of  the  Almighty,  48.— His  mission  on  earth,  49. 

CHAPTER  in.— Doctrines  taught  bt  Jesus  Christ. 

Faith,  51.— Influences  arrayed  against  Christ  and  His  doctrines,  51.— Sensuality 
of  the  times,  52.— The  Emperor  Tiberius,  52.— Absolute  and  unquestioning/o?Y/i 
demanded  by  Jesus,  54.— Obdurate  unbelief  of  the  Jews  and  Pagans,  54.— Mira- 
cles a  means  of  inspiring  faith,  54-(U. — Rewards  of  faith  given  to  true  believers, 
55.— Faith  the  first  element  of  religion,  56.— Objects  of  faith  chiefly  miraculous, 
56.— Doubts  suggested  by  sensual  philosophy,  59. — Doctrine  of  the  Council  of 
Trent,  62.— Apostles'  Creed,  03.— Miracles,  04. 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV.— DocTKiNES  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Repentance,  Confession,  and  Eeformation,  66.— Tnie  penitence  requires  both  faith 
and  Avorks,  65.— Demanded  by  both  divine  and  human  laws,  67.— Men  are  natu- 
rally prone  to  evil,  G7.— Pride  and  self-will  deter  men  from  penance,  07.- Con- 
servative agencies,  GS.— Sacrament  of  penance,  69.— Objections,  09.— Refutation 
from  the  Bible  and  the  Council  of  Trent,  70.— ITtilily,  73.— Admissions  of  Prot- 
estants, 72.— Duties  of  priests  and  penitents  in  the  confessional,  73.— Objec- 
tions to  public  confessions,  74.— This  sacrament  established  by  Christ  and  prac- 
tised by  the  apostles,  76. 

CHAPTER  v.— Doctrines  taught  bt  Jesus  Christ. 

Baptism,  7S.— Baptism  instituted  by  Christ,  78.— Appropriate  as  iin  initiatory 
ceremony,  78.— Its  necessity,  79.— The  Saviour  and  apostles  taught  that  it  con- 
fers grace  on  the  believer,  78.— Several  Christian  sects  aclcnowledge  this,  80.— 
Danger  of  ignoring  it,  81. 

CHAPTER  YI.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Confirmation,  82.— Evidently  of  divine  origin,  82.— Christ  and  the  apostles  prac- 
tised it,  82.— Apostles  at  the  day  of  Pentecost,  8-1.— A  canon  of  the  Council  of 
Trent  on  this  subject,  &1.— Confirmation  as  a  means  of  grace,  85. 

CHAPTER  yn.— DocTRiKES  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Eucliarist,  86.— A  divine  institution,  86.— Effects  flowing  from  it,  87.— The 
conversion  of  the  elements  miraculous,  87.— Teaching  of  the  Council  of  Trent, 
88.— The  mass,  88-91.— Its  signification,  89.— The  miracle  represented  in  the 
mass  only  consistent  with  the  Lord's  positive  promise,  89.— Difference  between 
the  Catholic  and  Protestant  Churches  respecting  this  sacrament,  90-97.— Prot- 
estants object  as  the  unbelieving  Jews  did,  93.— Faith  in  Christ  the-  great  want 
of  all  Christians,  94. 

CHAPTER  Vm.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Orders,  99.— Institution  of  the  priesthood  of  divine  origin,  99.— The  ministry 
established  by  Christ,  100.— Its  great  importance,  102.— Danger  of  denying  its 
sacredness,  or  of  assuming  to  speak  lightly  of  its  functions,  100.— Interests  of 
the  Church  committed  to  the  priesthood,  102 

CHAPTER  IX.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

i/ai;nmo;iy.— Wisdom  and  mercy  of  God  manifested  in  this  sacrament,  103.— Its 
sacredness  proved,  104.- Its  influence  in  promoting  the  religious  sentiment  and 
the  welfare  of  society,  105.— Texts  showing  its  sacramental  character,  105.— 
Remarks  of  Allies  on  this  subject,  105. 

CHAPTER  X.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Extreme  Z7/iC('2on.— Apostolic  direction  to  pray  over  and  anoint  the  sick,  107.-- 
Practice  of  the  disciples  sent  forth  by  Jesus,  107.— Manifest  use  of  this  sacra- 
ment, 108.— The  Lord's  love  is  herein  shown  to  man  in  his  greatest  trials,  lOS. 
—Teaching  of  the  fathers  of  Trent,  109. 

CHAPTER  XI.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Ten  Commandments,  110.— Revealed  by  the  Almighty  on  Mount  Sinai,  110.— 
Reasserted  by  Christ  as  of  perpetual  obligation.  111.— The  golden  rule,  111.— 
One  of  the  four  fundamental  divisions  of  the  Catholic  Church,  112. 


COlsTElsTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  Xn.— Doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Cueist. 

The  Lord's  Prmjer.— This  model  prayer  the  gift  of  Christ  to  ukiu,  113.— Ita 
adaptation  to  his  wants,  contrasted  with  the  long  prayers  of  the  Pharisees,  114. 
—The  teachings  and  example  of  Christ  at  variance  with  the  opinions,  morals, 
habits,  and  usages  of  the  most  enlightened  ancient  nations,  115.— Extract  from 
"Eccenomo,"llG. 

CILVPTER  XIII.— The  Cnuiicu  founded  bt  Cueist  akd  the  Catholic  CnuRcii 

IDENTICAL, 

Recapitulation  of  doctrines,  118.— The  Church  in  obscurity,  120.— Becomes  the 
religion  of  the  empire  under  Constantino,  120.— Tyrannical  emperors,  121.— Per- 
secution, 121.— The  Church  protected  by  Constantine,  122.— Exalted  character 
of  Constantine,  122.— Barbarian  invasions,  123.— Efforts  of  the  Christian  Church 
to  preserve  the  Scriptures,  124.— Siege  of  Rome  by  Attila,  125.— Conduct  of  the 
Pope,  126.— Condition  of  Europe  after  the  incorporation  of  the  barbarians,  12T. 
-Three  distinct  elements  struggling  for  the  mastery,  12'?. — The  Church  counter- 
acts barbarism,  preserves  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  ancient  learning  tlurough  the 
dark  ages,  12T. — Elevation  of  industry,  128.— Labors  of  the  priesthood;  St. 
Benedict,  128.— Reforms  then  made  within  the  Church,  129.— Saracens  invade 
Europe,  131.— They  were  Vnitanans,  131.— Fanatics,  130.— Defeated  at  Tours, 
131.— Feudal  oppressions  of  the  people,  132. — The  Church  resists  tyranny,  133. 
—Charlemagne,  134.— Darkness  and  ignorance  of  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries, 
134. — The  Church  everywhere  "  protests  against  excesses  of  mere  strength  and 
^iolence,"  1.35.— The  Normans  in  France,  138.— The  Crusades  against  the  Mo- 
hammedans, 13G.— Progi-ess  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  1-38. 
—Missions  in  Eastern  Asia,  140.— Sacrifices  taade  by  the  missionaries,  141.— St. 
Francis  Xavier  and  others,  142.— True  intei-pretation  of  the  Scriptures,  143.— 
Advantages  of  oral  teaching,  143.— Traditions  of  the  Church,  144.— Unwritten 
traditions,  14G,  147.— Teachings  of  St.  Paul,  147.- The  ancient  fathers,  149.— 
Innovations  of  protesters,  152.— Christ  and  the  ancient  fathers  harmonize,  151. 
— EvUs  of  private  intci-pretation,  loS.— Resume,  180. 

CHAPTER  XTV.- Common  Grounds  of  Religious  Faith. 

Unity  of  fliith  essential  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Church,  163.— Necessity  of  unity 
taught  by  Christ  and  the  apostles,  163. — Evil  of  divisions  and  dissensions,  16 1. 
—Marks  of  a  true  church,  165.— Doctrines  held  in  common  by  Chi-istiaus  gener- 
ally, 160.— The  Catholic  Church  holds  all  that  are  essential  to  salvation,  168.— 
Points  of  harmony  between  Roman,  Greek,  and  Anglican  Churches,  169. — Three 
out  of  the  four  grand  divisions  of  essential  elements  of  faith  accepted  by  them 
all,  171.— Influence  of  private  intei-pretation  in  dividing  and  setting  Christians 
at  variance,  171. 

CHAPTER  XV.— On  the  Invocation  of  Saints,  A:^TD  on  Sacred  Images  and 
Pictures. 

»  Errors  of  Protestant  teaching  on  this  subject  refuted,  174.— Actual  doctrines  of 
the  Church,  174. — Christ  the  object  of  worship  by  men  and  angels,  175. — Scrip- 
ture proofs  that  prayers  to  saints  and  angels  have  been  answered,  176. — The 
Catholic  Church  prohibits  divine  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  177.— Saints 
passed  from  earth  do  not  forget  those  they  love,  178.— The  prayers  of  the  good 
in  earth  or  heaven,  179.— Death  is  only  a  new  birth,  ISO.— Teaching  of  the 
Council  of  Trent,  180-18G.— Pictures-only  recall  to  our  memories  the  acts  of  the 
persons  they  represent,  181. — An  illustrative  incident,  182. — Value  of  pictures, 
busts,  and  statues  of  our  friends,  183.— True  use  of  symbols  and  representa- 
tives, but  not  idol^,  135.— Honor  to  the  martyrs,  187.— Empress  Helena,  187.— 


\IU  CONTENTS. 

Reverence  of  sepulchres  ami  relics  of  beloved  persons  ancient  and  universal, 
188.— Protestant  inconsistencies  and  want  of  reverence,  189.— Definition  hj  St. 
Jerome,  191. 

CHAPTER  XVI.— Cathedrals,  and  Foems  and  Ceremonies  of  the  Chuecu, 
Grand  churches  and  imposing  ceremonies  impossible  to  the  first  Christians,  192. 
—Poverty  and  persecution,  192.— Subjects  cheerfully  honor  their  rulers  with 
costly  palaces  and  the  paraphernalia  of  royalty,  193.— Shall  the  King  of  kings 
receive  less  honor  ?  Selfishness  and  coldness  characteristic  of  non-demonstra- 
tive men,  195. 

CHAPTER  XVn.— Papal  Supkemact. 

Christ  selected  one  of  his  apostles  as  head  of  the  visible  Church,  201.— Necessity  of 
organization,  203.— Successors  of  Saint  Peter,  204.— Examples  and  authorities 
from  the  apostles  and  early  fathers,  208.— The  Bishop  of  Rome  always  acknowl- 
edged as  head  of  the  Church,  209.— Authorities,  210. 

CHAPTER  XVni.— Papal  Infallibility. 

What  the  Church  teaches  on  this  point,  215.— Definition  of  the  faith  as  given  by 
successive  popes,  216. — The  pope's  representative  character,  218. — The  Church 
safe  from  innovations  or  papal  abuse  of  power,  219.— Authorities,  222. 

CHAPTER  XIX.— Papal  Inteefeeence  in  Secular  Affaies. 
Examples,  226,— These  acts  justifiable,  227.— Authorities,  228. 

CHAPTER  XX.— Condition  of  the  "Woeld  at  the  Commencement  of  the 
Reformation. 
Three  systems  of  civilization  in  operation,  233.— Preservation  of  Christianity  to 
the  fifteenth  centurj'^  due  to  the  Catholic  Church,  23T.— Influence  of  the  Refor- 
mation, 238. — Great  number  of  books  printed  before  Luther,  240.— The  Scrip- 
tures, 240.— Great  achievements  of  Catholic  discoverers  and  missionaries,  242. 
—Reformation  already  going  on  within  the  Church,  244. 

CHAPTER  XXI.— Primitive  Peotestantism. 

Ancient  protesters  ;  they  reject  Christ,  247. — Examples  of  revolt  from  the  Church 
in  the  early  centuries,  250.— Tertullian's  remarks  oh  heresies,  253. 

CHAPTER  XXn.— Modern  Protestantism. 

The  large  number  of  modem  sects,  255. — Influence  of  Puritanic  Protestantism, 
256.— Objects  of  the  innovators,  257. — Elements  of  failure  in  their  scheme,  2G0. 
—Luther,  262. 

CHAPTER  XXni.— Docteines  of  the  Innovatoes  of  the  Sixteenth  Centukt. 
Rationalism,  265.— Original  sin,  206.- Teachings  of  the  loaders,  267.— Of  the 
Catholic  Church,  267.— Free-will,  269.— Predestination,  270, 271  .-Justification  by 
faith  alone,  273.— Good  works  condemned,  274.— Luther,  Calvin,  Zwinglius,  274. 
Evil  consequences  of  their  teachings,  278.— Dissensions,  279.— Fatalistic  ten- 
dencies, 281.— Scriptural  evidence  against  them,  284. 

CHAPTER  XXrV".— Traits  of  a  Few  of  the  Prominent  Reformers. 

Luther :  early  life  of,  287.- His  first  disafl'ection  to  the  Church,  288.— His  visions 
and  fantasies,  289.— Extravagant  assertions  and  conduct,  290,  291.— He  tolerated 
polygamy,  292.— His  intolerance  and  cruelty,  292.— Conferences  with  the  devil, 


CONTENTS.  IX 

294.— Lutlicr  certainly  a  monomaniac,  295-299.— Melancthon,  300.— Superstitions, 
301. — Private  opinions  of  the  Eeformcrs  discordant,  302. — General  character, 
302. — Calvin;  mental  and  physical  peculiarities  of,  303. — His  stern  and  cruel 
character,  304.— His  doctrines  misrepresent  the  character  of  the  Creator,  304. — 
The  model  Puritan,  306.— Minor  innovators,  306.— Buccr,  307.— Karlstadt,  308- 
311.— Zwinglius,  308.— Farel,  309.— Anabaptists,  309.— John  of  Leyden,  309.— 
David  George,  310.— Stork,  310.— Tanquelin,  311.— Henry  VIH. ;  Anne  Boleyn, 
313.— Divorce  of  Queen  Catharine,  314.— The  Anglican  Chm*ch,  314.— Queen 
Elizabeth,  315.— Craumer,  31 4-316.— Bang  Henry  excommunicated,  316.— Classi- 
fication of  Reformers,  317. 

CHAPTER  XXV.— Fruits  of  the  Refokmation  nr  Eukope. 

Influence  on  religious  sentiment,  319.— Disintegration  of  the  Church  begun  by 
the  Reformers,  320. — Progress  of  rationalism  and  materialism,  321. — Marriage  a 
holy  sacrament,  .321. — Reformers  sanction  polygamy,  322. — Vows  of  celibacy 
broken  by  their  followers,  323. — The  ties  of  morality  loosened,  323. — Monas- 
teries and  libraries  despoiled,  323.— Churches  and  nunneries  also,  324. — Per- 
secution by  the  Reformers  in  Switzerland,  325.— Calvin  and  Zwinglius,  325. — 
Progress  of  infidelity,  327. — Kantian  philosophy  of  human  reason  as  the  only 
revelation,  327.— Testimony  of  Macaulay  to  the  faithfulness  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  328.— Calvin  and  the  Puritanical  teachings  in  France,  329.— Calvinism 
leads  to  infidelity  or  back  to  Catholicism,  330.— Henry  VHI.  the  spiritual  head 
of  the  Church  in  England,  331.— His  authority  triumphant,  332.— Martyrs,  332. 
—Statement  of  M.  D'Aubigne,  333.— Answer  to  this,  334-330.— D'Aubigne's  ad- 
mission, 336. 

CH.i\PTER  XXVI.— Feuits  of  the  Eefobmation  in  Exjeope. 

Influence  on  morals,  manners,  and  society,  338.— Reformers  should  have  attempt- 
ed to  reform  erring  numbers  rather  than  attack  the  Church  of  God  itself,  338. — 
Deterioration  of  morals  caused  by  the  Reformation,  339. — Cruelties,  immorali- 
ties, divorce-mania,  340.— Proofs  from  various  authors,  340-342.— Moral  state 
of  Christendom  growing  worse  under  the  Reformers,  343.— Various  authorities, 
343.— Calvin,  344.— Melancthon,  345.— The  same  evils  visible  in  our  own  times, 
340.— Results  of  Puritanism  in  other  countries,  347.— Religious  civil  wars,  348. 
—Diet  of  Augsburg,  348.— War  in  Switzerland,  349-351.— War  in  France,  352.— 
Huguenots,  353. — Conde,  Prince  of  Orange,  Coligny,  353. — St.  Bartholomew's, 
354.— Puritanism  in  Sweden  ;  Gustavus  Vasa,  355.— Denmark ;  confiscation  and 
robbery  of  church  property,  356.— Iceland,  350.— Scotland,  356.— John  Knox, 
356.— Tenets  and  practical  tendencies  of  Puritanism,  357.— Election,  total  deprav- 
ity, predestination,  358. — What  has  Puritanism  accomplished  ?  360.— Compari- 
son between  Puritanism  and  paganism,  361. — The  primary  aim  of  the  Reform- 
ers, 363. 

CHAPTER  XXVn.— The  Puritan  System  in  America. 

The  Bible  as  the  standard  of  faith  and  practice,  367. — Materialism ;  political  econ- 
omy, 368. — The  ascetic  and  industrial  philosophies,  368. — Doctrine  of  the  Ser- 
mon on  the  Mount,  369.— The  monastic  system,  370. — The  renovating  influence 
of  the  Church,  371.— Parallel  between  Catholic  and  Protestant  coimtries,  371.— 
Influences  of  the  two  religious  systems  on  civilization,  373.— Mexico,  374.— New 
England,  375.— Puritans  at  Plymouth  Rock,  377.— Fate  of  the  American  Indians, 
378.— North  Carolina,  379.— Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  380.— Indians  of  Connecticut 
and  Massachusetts,  381.— King  Philip,  381.— Reward  for  Indian  scalps,  382.— 
Catholic  colony  of  Lord  Baltimore  in  Maryland,  383.— Puritanism  exterminating 
the  Indians,  383. 


X  co:n"tents. 

CHAPTER  XX^Tn.— Puritan  Ixtoleeance. 

The  Puritans  had  been  themselves  persecuted  in  England,  386.— Their  progress 
and  character  in  America,  3S6.— Persecution  by  Puritans  of  Boston  and  Salem, 
387. —Persecution  of  Catholics  in  Ireland,  397.— Semi-barbarous  character  of  tha 
people  in  the  middle  ages,  39T.— Toleration  by  Catholics  in  Maryland,  398. 

CHAPTER  XXrX.— Missions  in  Asieeica. 

Influence  of  Catholic  missionaries  in  America,  399.— Missions  among  the  Indians ; 
Father  Marquette,  399.— Jesuits  in  Canada,  399.— The  Hurons ;  Brebeuf  and 
Daniel,  400.— Martyrdoms,  400.— Difference  between  Catholic  and  Protestant 
missions,  401.— Contrasts,  402.— War  of  sects,  402.— Converted  Indians  of  South 
America,  493.— Statistics  of  the  progress  of  Catholic  missions  in  America,  404. 
—Asia  and  Oceanica,  405.— Africa,  406.— Total  Catholic  converts  from  heathen- 
ism, 407. 

CHAPTER  XXX.— HusiAN  Slavery  in  Kew  England. 

Commenced  by  Puritans  in  1837,  409.— Great  numbers  of  slaves  taken  from  Africa, 
409.— Slave-trade  never  sanctioned  by  the  See  of  Rome,  410,  411.— Puritans  en- 
slaving Indians,  411.— Queen  Isabella  saves  Indians  from  being  sold,  412.— The 
•svisest  Americans  contemplated  gradual  emancipation,  412. 

CHAPTER  XXXI.— Puritanism  in  the  United  States. 

Lijliience  on  Morals,  Ilanners,  and  Politics.— Vmii^n's,  cold  and  unsocial,  414.— 
From  Calvinism  to  infidelity  is  but  a  short  step,  415.— Socialistic  and  skeptical 
elements  in  Puritanism  lead  to  a  perverted  supernaturalism,  41G.— Their  rela- 
tion to  witchcraft  and  modem  Spii'itualism,  415.— Evil  results  of  this  doctrine, 
416.— Rationalism  and  skepticism,  417.— Radical  Puritans  imitating  the  Norman 
pirates,  418.— Corruption  and  fanaticism  of  American  radicals,  419.— Degenera- 
tion of  the  Romans  at  the  end  of  the  Republic,  419.— Similar  degeneration 
among  Americans  at  present,  419.— Peculiarities  of  the  Puritans  in  England, 
420.— In  England  and  America,  420.— Northern  radicalism ;  taxation,  421.— The 
events  of  our  time  compared  with  those  of  the  French  Revolution,  422.— Macau- 
lay's  description  of  Barrere,  423.— Comparison  with  other  characters  of  former 
times  and  of  the  present,  425,  426.— Contrast  bctv/een  the  French  Revolution  of 
1789  and  that  of  America  in  1S61-'G5.— Jacobin  and  American  spy  systems  com- 
pared, 428.— The  "rebound"  after  the  French  Reign  of  Terror,  430.— Sectional 
usurpation  of  power  can  be  but  temporary,  431.— Fanaticism  of  the  South  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  North,  432.— Errors  of  ITorthem  philanthropy,  433.— The 
true  Christian  standard,  433. 

CHAPTER  XXXn.— Puritanism  m  the  United  States. 

Injluence  on  the  Eeligious  Sentiment,  435.— The  world  advancing  in  skepticism,  435. 
—The  key  to  this  condition,  436.— The  education  of  Protestants  insufficient  to 
arrest  the  tide  of  infidelity,  436.— New  England,  political,  religious,  and  moral 
theory,  430.- Want  of  religious  unity,  437.— Rationalism,  487.— Fearful  moral 
state  of  the  Christian  world,  438.— Spiritualism,  438.— The  rapidly  increasing 
numbers  of  mediums  and  advocates,  439.— Statistics,  440.— Their  anti-Christian 
doctrines,  441.— Skeptics,  rationalists,  etc.,  4-11.— Causes  of  decline  in  religious 
sentiment,  412.— Unitarians,  443.— Universalists,  443.— Jews,  412.— Summary, 
445.— The  results  of  private  judgment  in  matters  of  faith,  446.— How  can  these 
anti-Christian  influences  be  counteracted  ?  447.— Cannot  religious  unity  be  at- 
tained? 448.— Sectarian  organizations  must  continue  to  fail,  449. 


co:sTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XXXm.— Cehtkes  of  Public  Sentiment. 

Aucieat  centres  of  public  opinion,  450.— Luther  a  chief  centre  of  Protestant  senti- 
ment for  his  time,  451.— Other  centres:  the  university  of  Paris,  451.— John  Cal- 
vin in  Switzerland,  452.— Gustavus  Yasa  in  Sweden,  453. — Henry  VUI.  in  Eng- 
land, 452.— Cromwell,  453. — English  universities,  453.— John  Knox  in  Scotland, 
454. — The  priesthood  in  Ireland,  454.— The  Puritans  in  America,  455.— Puritan- 
ism a  failure,  456.— An  example  of  a  radical  agitator,  fanatical  and  rationalistic, 
457.— Editors  as  centres  of  ultra-radical  opinion,  458.— Influence  of  education  and 
personal  surroundings,  459.— Appeal  to  patriots  and  philanthropists,  4G0.— Rad- 
ical intolerance,  4G0. — Abuse  of  liberty  of  the  press,  461.— M.  Guizot's  opinion 
of  monarchy  as  a  rcfagc  from  anarchy,  4G2. — Dangers  to  our  country  from  parti- 
san agitations,  463.— Influence  of  religious  fanaticism,  463.— The  spirit  of  Puri- 
tanism revolutionary  and  sanguinary,  465.— A  sample  of  a  Puritan  sermon,  4G6. 
—Wiser  statesmen  of  former  years,  4GT. 

CHAPTER    XXXIV.— Pkesent    Condition    and   Prospects   or   the   Catholic 
CnuriCii. 

Religious  statistics  of  the  vrorld,  4G9.— Statistics  of  the  Catholic  Church,  470.— Its 
rapid  progress  in  heathen  and  Protestant  countries,  470.— Condition  of  Protest- 
antism in  contrast,  471.— The  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States,  472.— Just 
comparison  between  Catholic  and  Protestant  nations,  473.— France  and  Eng- 
land, 473.— Other  countries,  Belgium  and  Holland,  475.— Catholics  in  the  United 
States,  475.— Heathen  converts  to  Catholicism,  476.— Its  principles  adapted  to 
men  of  all  classes  and  to  all  governments,  476.— Its  superiority  to  the  sects, 
477.— Effects  of  true  religion,  478.— The  mission  of  the  Church  is  a  spiritual 
one,  479.— Summary  of  the  positions  assumed  in  this  work,  479.— Conclusion, 
480. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND    ITS    CONFLICTS, 

ANCIENT  AND   MODERN. 


-♦^>- 


CHAPTER     I. 

CONDITION    OF   THE    WORLD   AT   TUE    BIETII    OF    CHRIST. 

The  idolatry,  inliiimanity,  licentiousness,  tyranny,  and 
persecution  of  the  early  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  were 
legitimate  offspring  of  the  universally  received  philosophies 
of  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Epicurus.  From  the  time 
when  Zoroaster  reformed  the  order  of  the  Persian  Magi, 
with  their  worship  of  fire  and  the  other  elements  as  em- 
blems of  the  Deity,  until  the  Christian  era.  Pantheistic  hy- 
potheses had  exercised  a  dominating  influence  over  the 
religions,  political,  moral,  and  social  affairs  of  the  nations 
of  earth.  In  this  world,  fire,  air,  water,  earth,  etc.,  were 
regarded  and  worshipped  as  gods  who  presided  over  the  tem- 
poral destinies  of  mankind,  and  the  chief  end  of  life  was 
the  pursuit  of  happiness.  The  ancient  pantheists  also  be- 
lieved in  a  resurrection  after  death,  and  another  spiritual 
existence  similar  to  that  of  this  world,  but  presided  over  by 
two  demons — one  good,  Jupiter  or  Oromasdes,  and  one  evil, 
Pluto  or  Ahrimanes.  They  regarded  these  gods  as  beings 
who  had  been  born. 
1 


2  CHEISTLAJNITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

From  this  parent  source  sprang  the  various  pantheistic 
sects  which  afterward  extended  oyer  the  world,  like  the  Chal- 
deans and  ancient  Greeks,  who  worshipped  the  stars ;  the 
Druids  of  ancient  Britain,  who  worshipped  mundane  objects, 
and  believed  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  human  sacrifices, 
and  exercised  supreme  temporal  and  spiritual  jurisdiction  over 
tlieir  subjects  ;  the  ancient  Egyptians,  who  regarded  the  sun 
and  moon  as  gods — and  worshipped  them  under  the  names  of 
Osiris  and  Isis ;  the  Anaxagorians,  who  believed  that  mat- 
ter was  endowed  with  mind — that  originally  all  things  were 
mixed  up  together,  and  then  mind  came  and  arranged  them 
all  in  distinct  order ;  the  Socratic  sect,  which  adoj)ted  most 
of  the  views  of  the  master  of  Socrates,  Anaxagoras;  the 
Sophists,  founded  by  Thales,  Solon,  etc. ;  the  Stoic  sect, 
founded  by  Zeno ;  the  Cynic,  founded  by  Antisthenes ;  the 
Epicurean,  by  Epicurus;  the  Academic,  by  Plato;  the 
Peripatetic,  by  Aristotle ;  the  Skeptics  or  Pyrrheic  school ;  and 
numerous  otlier  sects.  All  of  these  schools  of  philosophy 
were  derived  from  the  three  great  schools  of  the  ancients :  the 
Natural  (study  of  nature),  taught  by  Pythagoras  and  Thales; 
the  Ethical  (study  of  morals  and  the  things  of  life),  taught 
by  Socrates ;  and  the  Dialectic  (argumentative,  or  polemic 
sect),  taught  by  Clitomachus. 

One  of  tlie  best  exponents  of  these  ancient  philosophies 
was  Plato,  the  pupil  of  Socrates.  He  condensed  into  a  sin- 
gle philosophical  code  the  principles  of  Socrates,  Pythagoras, 
and  Ilcraclitus,  embracing  all  subjects  pertaining  to  morals, 
politics,  intellectual  culture,  and  society.  He  imbibed  many 
of  the  notions  of  his  predecessors,  but  he  also  originated 
many  new  ideas  respecting  God,  a  future  state,  the  lavrs 
which  should  govern  society,  and  the  duties  which  men  owe 
to  God  and  to  their  fellow-creatures. 

Plato  recognized  two  primary  causes  or  principles  of  all 
things :  "  God  and  Matter — the  former  Mind^  and  the  lat- 
ter the  Causey  He  suj^posed  that  this  matter  originally 
possessed  life,  sensation,  and  motion,  but  without  order  or 
form ;  and  that  when  God  pervaded  it,  it  then  became  en- 


TUE    WORLD   AT   THE   BIETII    OF   CHRIST.  6 

do  wed  with  intelligence,  as  well  as  life  and  motion,  was 
governed  by  definite  laws,  and  assumed  distinctive  forms 
and  harmonious  organizations.  The  gods  of  Plato  were 
vague,  spiritual  manifestations,  possessing  intelligence  and 
powers  superior  to  those  of  mortals,  and  capable  of  taking 
possession  of  material  objects,  and  governing  them  according 
to  certain  natural  and  uniform  laws.  He  saw  gods  in  the 
earth,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  in  the  instincts  of  animals,  in 
the  laws  of  Nature,  and  he  adored  these  manifestations  of  the 
Infinite  rather  than  the  creative  Being  Himself.  !N'ature  was 
his  god — a  subtle,  intelligent,  ever-active,  and  potent  spirit, 
similar,  but  superior  to  the  human  soul.  In  other  words,  lie 
was  a  Pantheist.  He  sup])Osed  that  the  gods  superintended 
all  of  the  affaii'S  of  men,  as  well  as  the  laws  governing  the 
three  kingdoms  of  nature.  He  also  believed  in  demons.  He 
considered  the  earth  the  oldest  of  all  the  deities,  and  that 
the  gods  are  chiefly  composed  of  fire. 

Plato  regarded  the  soul  as  an  abstract  idea  of  spirit,  dif- 
fused in  all  directions,  iimnortal,  transmigratory,  and  com- 
posed of  three  difierent  principles — the  reasoning,  located  in 
the  head;  the  appetitive,  located  around  the  navel  and  liver  ; 
and  the  passionate,  located  around  the  heart. 

Although  Plato  and  his  master,  Socrates,  professed  to 
believe  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  in  a  future  existence 
after  death,  and  in  superior  spiritual  beings,  who  pervade 
and  govern  all  things  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  wlioni 
they  recognized  and  worshipped  as  gods,  yet  these  ideas  were 
vague  and  material.  They  possessed  no  just  ideas  of  the  attri- 
butes of  the  Infinite  Creator,  of  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments,  of  the  human  soul,  or  of  the  true  relations 
which  exist  between  God  and  men. 

Not  one  of  the  old  philosophers  before  Christ — Thales, 
Pythagoras,  Xenoplianes,  Democritus,  Plato,  Xenophon, 
Aristotle,  Zeno,  Diogenes — believed  in  one  immaterial  and 
personal  God.  Nearly  every  one  of  them  believed  that  the 
soul  perished  at  death.  At  the  advent  of  Christ,  the  civil- 
ized world  entertained  no  correct  ideas  of  God,  tlieir  account- 


4  CIIEISTIANITY    AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ability  to  Ilim,  or  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Their 
highest  conceptions  of  duty  toward  God,  themselves,  their 
fellow-men,  and  society,  were  comprehended  in  the  four  moral 
virtues  of  "prudence,  temperance,  fortitude,  and  justice." 
The  Christian  virtues  of  faith,  hope,  charity,  and  love  to  God 
and  man,  had  no  place  in  their  minds  or  thoughts.  Says 
Allies :  "  That  God  created  the  visible  world  and  the  souls  of 
men  out  of  nothing,  was  an  idea  never  reached  by  Pythag- 
oras, Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Cicero,  or   any   Greek   or 

Roman  mind  before  Christ It  is  in  vain  to  seek  for  any 

certain  hope  of  immortal  life  beyond  the  grave  in  Greek  or 
Roman  literature There  is  no  distinction  made  be- 
tween  the   souls  of  birds,  beasts,  fishes,  insects,  and  men ; 
none   in   their   origin,   none   in   their    destination ;  each   at 
its  birth  catches  for  itself  a  tiny  sj^ark  of  the  world-soul, 
passes  through  its  little  life,  and  is  resolved  into  the  great 
Avorld-source  again In  truth,  there   are  the  same  ob- 
jections at  the  bottom  to  Marcus  Aurelius  and  to  Epictetus. 
Their  religious  system  is  a  complete  materialism.     It  recog- 
nizes only  two  principles.  Matter,  and  an  active  Force  eter- 
nally indwelling  in  matter  and  forming  it.     It  knows  of  no 
incorporeal  things,  save  as  our  own  abstractions.     God  is  the 
unity  of  a  force  embracing  the  whole  universe,  penetrating 
all  things,  assuming  all  forms,  and  as  such,  a  subtle  fluid, 
fire,  ether,  or  spirit,  under  which  the  Stoies  understood  a  fifth 
element,  to  Avhich  the  air  served  as  a  material  basis.     In  this 
ethereal  fiery  force  all  modes  of  existence  of  the  world-body 
animated  by  it  are  contained  beforehand,  and  develop  them- 
selves regularly  out  of  it ;  it  lives  and  moves  itself  in  every 
thing,  is  the  common  source  of  all  life  and  all  desire.     lS[ovi 
as  in  this  system  God  and  necessity  are  one,  every  thing 
ethical  becomes  physical.     The  soul  of  man  is  of  like  sub- 
stance,  and  so  is  a  breath   or  fire  like   the   world-soul,  of 
which  it  is  a  portion ;  but  it  manifests  itself  in  man  at  the 
same  time  as  the  force  from  wdiich  knowledge  and  action 
proceed,  as  intelligence,  will,  and  self-consciousness."  * 

*  Formation  of  Christendom,  pp.  80-88,173. 


THE   WORLD   AT   THE   EIRTn    OF   CnRIST.  5 

Daring  the  four  tlioiisand  years  wliich  preceded  the 
Chi-istian  era,  the  philosophies  of  the  world  successively  grew 
out  of  the  natural  wants  and  requirements  of  mankind. 
Man,  as  an  individual,  and  in  his  relations  to  his  family,  to 
society,  and  to  the  state,  required  certain  fixed  rules  of  ac- 
tion, in  order  to  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  worldly  pros- 
perity and  happiness.  As  an  individual,  both  instinct  and 
experience  taught  him  that  truthfulness,  honesty,  and  fair 
dealing  were  necessary  to  command  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  his  fellow-men ;  while  their  oj)posites  always  created 
contemj^t,  hatred,  and  an  evil  reputation.  He  knew  that 
intemperance  in  eating,  drinking,  and  sexual  pleasures,  en- 
tailed disease,  suifering,  and  an  abridgment  of  life,  and  he 
instinctively  cultivated  temperance  and  moderation  in  the 
gratification  of  his  appetites  and  j^assions.  Intercourse  with 
liis  fellows  showed  him  that  the  practice  of  gentleness,  kind- 
ness, chai'ity,  and  mercy,  generated  in  others  kindred  senti- 
ments, together  with  emotions  of  gratitude  and  affection  ; 
while  selfishness  and  oppression  called  forth  hatred  and 
curses.  He  saw  that  unbecoming  pride  and  pomp  excited 
envy  and  calumny,  and  not  unfrequently  led  to  poverty  and 
want ;  therefore  he  regarded  modesty  and  economy  as  praise- 
worthy virtues. 

In  the  management  of  his  family  he  was  governed  by  the 
same  general  principles.  Natural  afiection  prompted  him 
to  act  for  the  highest  good  of  wife,  children,  and  other  kin- 
dred. For  the  sustenance  and  training  of  the  family,  in- 
dustry and  thrift  were  indispensable.  To  maintain  relations 
of  love,  respect,  and  mutual  trust  and  confidence,  it  was 
necessary  to  inculcate  principles  of  truthfulness,  justice, 
honor,  and  virtue. 

In  his  relations  to  society  and  to  the  general  government, 
the  individual  found  it  necessary  to  obey  and  to  aid  in  sus- 
taining the  laws  and  the  legally  constituted  authorities,  in 
order  that  his  own  person,  property,  and  rights  might  bo 
preserved.  Naturally  desirous  of  personal  independence  and 
riches,  for  the  sake  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  which  they 


6  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

procure,  the  individual  saw  that  only  a  \vell-organized  so- 
ciety, upheld  by  just  laws,  and  a  good  government,  could 
secure  to  him  these  privileges.  He  was  a  loyal  and  law- 
abiding  citizen,  because  disloyalty  and  acts  of  lawlessness 
would  tend  to  impair  the  stability  of  the  government,  the 
efficacy  of  the  laws,  and  endanger  his  own  liberties  and 
property.  These  ancient  philosophers,  statesmen,  and  jurists, 
in  framing  their  moral,  political,  and  social  codes,  were  gov- 
erned solely  by  the  natural  wants  and  necessities  of  men, 
and  not  by  any  abstract  principles  of  right  and  morality.  If 
they  included  in  their  codes  certain  moral  maxims,  it  was  be- 
cause immorality  and  vice  were  certain  to  cause  disease  and 
suffering;  if  they  established  the  tenure  of  property  on  a 
secure  basis,  and  conferred  upon  the  people  the  rights  of 
suffrage,  and  other  political  privileges,  it  was  because  an  op- 
posite course  would  have  led  to  agrarianism,  anarchy,  and 
revolutions.  As  these  men  regarded  the  pursuit  of  happiness 
as  the  chief  good  and  end  of  life,  tliey  submitted  all  practical 
affairs  to  the  touchstone  of  experience,  instead  of  moral  prin- 
ciple. If  experience  had  demonstrated  that  falsehood,  theft, 
and  licentiousness  would  have  afforded  them  the  highest  de- 
gree of  happiness,  they  would,  with  equal  facility,  have  le- 
galized and  j)ractised  them.  Almost  of  necessity,  all  laws 
derived  from  simple  human  reason,  and  founded  on  the  natu- 
ral desires  and  wants  of  men,  and  having  for  their  aim  and 
object  tem2:>oral  pleasure,  must  be  imperfect,  and  productive 
of  a  corrupt  and  debased  society.  It  is  only  upon  the  ex- 
alted and  disinterested  principles  of  Christianity  that  a  stable 
code  of  laws,  or  any  beneficent  and  permanent  government 
can  be  founded. 

The  ancients  formed  their  political  and  social  codes  solely 
with  reference  to  this  world.  ISTot  a  single  element  having 
reference  to  a  future  state  was  incorporated  into  their  social 
organizations.  They  enacted  laws,  established  customs  and 
habits,  and  lived  in  all  respects  with  reference  to  the  present, 
and  vdili  the  idea  that  at  death  existence  ceased. 

In   coiitrasting  the  ancient  civilizations   with   our  own 


THE   WORLD   AT   TUE   BIRTH    OF   CHRIST.  7 

witli  respect  to  the  individual,  Balmes  truly  observes :  "  If 
we  profoundly  study  the  question,  without  suffering  our- 
selves to  be  led  into  error  and  extravagance,  by  the  desire 
of  passing  for  deep  observers;  if  we  call  to  our  aid  a  just 
and  cool  philosophy,  supported  by  the  facts  of  history,  we 
see  that  the  principal  difference  between  the  ancient  civiliza- 
tion and  our  own  with  respect  to  the  individual  is,  that  raan^ 
considered  as  mail,  was  not  properly  esteemed.  Ancient  na- 
tions did  not  want  either  the  feeli7ig  of  personal  independ- 
ence^ or  the  pleasure  of  feeling  themselves  inen  ^  the  fault  was 
not  in  the  heart,  but  in  the  head.  What  they  wanted  Avas 
the  comprehension  of  the  dignity  of  man;  the  high  idea 
Avhich  Christianity  has  given  us  of  ourselves,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  with  admirable  wisdom,  it  has  shown  us  our  in- 
firmities. What  ancient  societies  wanted,  what  all  those, 
where  Christianity  does  not  prevail,  have  Avanted,  and  will 
continue  to  want,  is  this  respect,  and  the  consideration  which 
surrounds  every  individual,  every  man^  inasmuch  as  he  is  a 
man.  Among  the  Greeks,  the  Greeks  are  every  thing ;  stran- 
gers, barbarians,  are  nothing.  In  Rome,  the  title  of  Iloman 
citizen  makes  the  man :  he  Avho  wants  this  is  nothing.  In 
Christian  countries,  the  infant  who  is  borri  deformed,  or  de- 
prived of  some  member,  e?i:cites  compassion,  and  becomes  an 
object  of  the  tenderest  solicitude ;  it  is  enough  that  he  is  a 
man,  and  unfortunate.  Among  the  ancients  this  human 
being  was  regarded  as  useless  and  contem23tible  •,  in  certain 
cities,  as,  for  example,  at  Lacedajmon,  it  was  forbidden  to 
nourish  him,  and,  by  command  of  the  magistrates  charged 
with  the  regulation  of  births,  horrible  to  relate!  he  was 
thrown  into  a  ditch.  He  was  a  human  being ;  but  what 
matter  ?  He  was  a  human  being  Avho  would  be  of  no  use ; 
and  society,  without  compassion,  did  not  wish  to  undertake 
the  charge  of  his  support.  If  you  read  Plato  and  Aristotle, 
you  will  see  the  horrible  doctrine  which  they  j)rofessed  on 
the  subject  of  abortion  and  infanticide;  you  will  see  the 
means  which  these  philosophers  imagined,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  excess  of  population ;  and  you  will  be  sensible  of 


8  CHEISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  immense  progress  society  has  made  under  the  influence 
of  Christianity,  in  all  that  relates  to  man.  Are  not  the  pub- 
lic games,  those  horrible  scenes  where  hundreds  of  men  were 
slaughtered  to  amuse  an  inhuman  multitude,  an  eloquent 
testimony  to  the  little  value  attached  to  man,  when  he  was 
sacrificed  with  so  much  barbarism  for  reasons  so  frivolous  ?  "  * 

The  introduction  of  Christianity  created  a  radical  change 
in  the  entire  organization  of  society,  hj  revealing  the  mo- 
mentous fact  that  the  true  end  and  object  of  the  present 
transient  life  is  to  prepare  for  a  future  one  which  will  be 
everlasting.  Upon  this  subject  Collard  observes :  "  Human 
societies  are  bora,  live,  and  die  upon  the  earth ;  there  they 
accomplish  their  destinies.  But  they  contain  not  the  whole 
man.  After  his  engagement  to  society  there  still  remains  in 
him  the  more  noble  j)art  of  his  nature ;  those  high  faculties 
by  which  he  elevates  himself  to  God,  to  a  future  life,  and  to 
the  unknown  blessings  of  an  invisible  world.  We,  indi- 
viduals, each  with  a  separate  and  distinct  existence,  with  an 
identical  person,  we,  truly  beings  endowed  with  immortality, 
we  have  a  higher  destiny  than  that  of  states."  f  M.  Guizot 
thus  alludes  to  this  subject :  "  Where  the  history  of  civili- 
zation ends,  when  there  is  no  more  to  be  said  of  the  present 
life,  man  instinctively  demands  if  all  is  over — if  that  is  the  end 
of  all  things  ?  This,  then,  is  the  last  problem,  and  the  grand- 
est, to  which  the  history  of  civilization  can  lead  us.  It  is  suffi- 
cient that  I  have  marked  its  place,  and  its  sublime  character."! 

In  common  Avith  nearly  all  of  the  ancient  philosophers, 
Plato  supposed  that  haj^piuess  was  made  up  of  wisdom  in 
council,  good  health,  a  capacity  for  physical  enjoyment,  good 
fortune,  noble  family,  good  reputation,  and  riches.  Every 
act  of  life  was  rendered  subservient  to  the  attamment  of  these 
ends.  Laws  and  statutes  were  founded,  and  the  entire  frame- 
work of  society  Avas  regulated  upon  these  principles. 

At  the  birth  of  Christ  the  political,  moral,  and  social  codes 
of  the  Roman  empire  were  founded  upon  these  pantheistic 

*  Prot.  and  Cath.  Comp.,  p.  126. 

f  Opin.  sur  le  Proj.  de  LoJ,  etc.,  pp.  7  and  17.  X  Hist  of  Civ.,  p.  30, 


THE   WORLD   AT   THE   BIBTH   OF   CHEIST.  0 

jjliilosopliies.  Obedience  to  constituted  authorities  and  to 
existing  laws  was  inculcated  ;  but  the  rights,  comforts,  and 
liberties  of  the  poor  and  humble  were  held  subservient  to  the 
pride,  luxury,  and  personal  gratification  of  the  noble  and  rich. 
Abstractly,  there  was  no  respect  for  justice  or  the  natural 
rights  of  man.  Laws  were  enacted  for  the  exclusive  benefit  of 
the  higher  classes ;  while  females,  artisans,  and  slaves  were 
degraded  to  the  level  of  brutes,  and  emj^loyed  as  instruments 
for  the  gratification  of  the  passions  and  pleasures  of  the 
wealthy  and  powerful.  AYorshippers  of  gods  but  little 
superior  to  men,  and  believing  v/ith  Epicurus  that  the  chief 
good  and  end  of  life  consists  in  "  the  pleasures  which  arise 
from  favors,  and  those  which  are  derived  from  amatory 
pleasures,  from  music,  and  from  the  contemplation  of  beauty," 
they  had  no  adequate  appreciation  of  their  fellow-creatures 
as  rational  and  responsible  beings  of  a  common  Father. 

A  brief  glance  at  the  condition  of  the  Roman  einj^ire 
from  the  foundation  of  Rome  to  the  birth  of  Jesus,  will 
enable  us  to  understand  better  how  the  untenable  theories  to 
which  we  have  alluded,  gained  such  an  ascendency  over  the 
minds  of  the  people. 

For  more  than  seven  hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era,  there  had  been  a  continued  succession  of  strus^o-les  be- 
tween  the  selfish  and  corrupt  patricians  on  the  one  hand,  to 
maintain  their  ascendency  and  unjust  privileges,  and  the  02> 
pressed  plebeians  on  the  other,  to  secure  their  i^olitical,  civil, 
and  social  rights.  I^early  every  generation  had  been  cursed 
with  civil  wars  between  these  conflicting  classes,  but  unfor- 
tunately riches  and  nobility  usually  predominated  over 
poverty  and  humble  birth.  At  the  foundation  of  Rome,  753 
years  b.  c.  when  Romulus  divided  his  subjects  into  two  dis- 
tinct classes  or  castes  of  "  Patrons  "  and  "  Clients,'^^  conferring 
upon  the  former  esjoecial  rights  and  privileges,  and  degrading 
the  other  to  a  condition  of  dependence  and  serfdom,  he 
establislied  a  precedent  which  exercised  a  dominating  influ-. 
ence  upon  the  liberties  of  the  plebeian  class  until  the  down- 
fall of  the  Roman  empire.  Occasionally  a  Servius,  a  Brutus, 
1* 


10  CHRISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

a  Valerius,  or  a  Gracchus,  would  appear  and  contend 
manfully  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people,  and 
for  the  moment  secure  partial  justice;  but  these  "friends 
of  the  people  "  were  almost  invariably  removed  by  the  as- 
sassin's dagger,  leaving  their  friends  Avithout  advocates  or 
defenders. 

Not  only  were  the  male  plebeians  deprived  of  their  liber- 
ties, but  their  females  were  degraded  to  a  still  lower  point  in 
the  scale  of  humanity.  They  were  looked  upon  as  mere  ad- 
juncts to  the  uses  and  j^leasures  of  men — without  intellect, 
moral  resj)onsibility,  or  the  dignity  or  rights  which  pertain  to 
the  other  sex.  They  were  valued  just  in  proportion  as  they 
were  capable  of  contributing  to  the  comforts  or  lusts  of  their 
male  oppressors.  Instead  of  being  recognized  as  the  equals 
and  companions  of  their  husbands,  fathers,  and  brothers,  and 
allowed  to  exercise  those  elevating  moral,  intellectual,  and 
social  influences  which  so  eminently  j^ertain  to  the  sex,  they 
were  subordinated  in  the  social  scale  to  the  rank  of  mere 
painted  puppets  and  playthings.  They  were  well  housed, 
fed,  nursed,  petted,  and  taught  to  sing  and  dance,  so  that  their 
persons  might  afford  more  sensual  gratification  to  their  male 
companions ;  but  their  minds  and  their  consciences  were 
allowed  to  remain  undeveloped — crushed  beneath  the  selfish- 
ness and  tyranny  of  men. 

After  years  of  civil  war  and  turbulence  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  triumviri — Pompey,  Crassus,  and  Caesar — during 
which  the  victorious  Koman  legions  had  annexed  to  the 
imperial  territory  portions  of  Asia,  Africa,  Greece,  Italj^, 
Gaul,  Spain,  and  Britain,  the  star  of  Ciesar  was  in  the  ascend- 
ant, and  he  was  created  supreme  dictator  of  the  Roman 
empire  in  4G  b.  c. 

Having  consolidated  his  power  by  decisive  victories  over 
Cato  and  the  sons  of  Pompey  in  Africa  and  Spain,  he  re- 
turned to  Rome,  to  rest  upon  his  laurels,  and  to  govern  the  em- 
pire. But  Brutus,  Cassius,  and  other  consj^irators,  regarding 
him  as  a  usurper,  a  tyrant,  and  a  destroyer  of  the  liberties  of 
the  people,  surrounded  him  in  the  Senate,  and  stabbed  him 


THE   WOELD   AT   THE   EmTII    OF   CUEIST.  11 

to  death  at  the  base  of  Pompcy's  statue.  A  few  years  after 
his  deatli,  the  battle  of  Actium  gave  to  his  nephew  and  heir, 
Octavius  Augustus,  the  imperial  throne,  upon  which  he  was 
still  seated  at  the  birth  of  Christ. 

In  forming  an  opinion  respecting  the  comparative  in- 
fluence of  Christianity  upon  the  civilization  of  any  given 
nation,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration  the  period 
when  such  nation  existed,  the  philosophies  which  obtained, 
the  knowledge  and  religious  light  possessed,  and  the  political, 
social,  and  moral  influences  in  operation.  Humboldt,  in  his 
"  Cosmos,"  expresses  the  opinion  that  the  philosophers  who 
lived  before  Christ  were  nearly  as  far  advanced  in  physical 
knowledge,  and  in  the  cultivation  of  literature,  languages, 
and  the  fine  arts,  as  Avere  the  subjects  of  Augustus  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era.  But  in  the  midst  of 
this  surpassing  material  prosperity  we  are  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge the  sad  fact  "  that,  in  the  case  of  nations  as  well  as  in  the 
case  of  individuals,  the  highest  j^oint  of  material  prosperity 
and  simple  human  progress  and  enlightenment  may  coexist 
with  the  lowest  degree  of  moral  and  religious  debasement."  * 
Even  in  the  best  periods  of  Grecian  civilization,  according 
to  Xenophon,  men  were  selfish,  cruel,  licentious,  and  stran- 
gers to  charity,  benevolence,  and  brotherly  love.  Pride 
and  self-gratification  absorbed  all  of  their  thoughts  and 
desires. 

Practically  the  men  of  the  Augustan  age  were  disciples  of 
Epicurus,  They  did  not  regard  death  as  of  any  consequence, 
believing  that  at  death  existence  ceases.  In  life,  they  regard- 
ed sensation  as  the  source  of  all  good  and  all  evil,  and  that 
death  was  only  the  privation  of  sensation. 

God  was  regarded  by  nearly  all  of  the  ancient  philosophers 
as  an  impersonal  and  incorporeal  spiritual  principle,  com- 
posed chiefly  of  fire,  pervading  all  substances,  presiding  over 
all  organizations,  over  reproduction,  germination,  growth, 
life,  instinct,  and  reason.  Subdivisions  of  this  god-principle 
Avere  recognized,  and  as  these  separate  parts  took  possession 

*  *'  Triumph  of  the  Catholic  Church,"  page  40. 


12  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

of  different  objects,  whether  animate  or  inanimate,  they  were 
esteemed  and  worshipped  as  gods  and  goddesses.  On  the 
physical  decay  of  these  objects,  the  spirits  which  had  animated 
them  were  supposed  to  return  again  to  their  original  spirit 
fountain,  or  element,  or  else  to  enter  into  some  other  being  or 
object  as  its  animating  and  directing  spirit.  The  soul  was 
supposed  to  be  migratory,  at  one  time  inhabiting  a  Ctesar,  at 
another  a  slave,  or  a  tiger,  or  a  reptile. 

With  such  ideas  respecting  God  and  the  human  soul,  it 
was  natural  that  idolatry,  selfishness,  licentiousness,  and  gen- 
eral corruption  should  prevail. 

The  laws  as  Avell  as  the  morals  of  the  Roman  empire  were 
founded  u^^on  these  absurd  philosophical  hyjDotheses.  The 
law^s  and  customs  of  nations  have  always  borne  the  impress 
of  the  prevalent  philosophies.  In  proportion  as  the  attributes 
of  God,  the  rights  of  man,  and  the  obligations  of  virtue  have 
been  appreciated,  so  have  been  civilization  and  Imman  prog- 
ress. If  the  morals  of  the  subjects  of  Augustus  Caesar  were 
corrupt,  if  the  laws  Avere  unjust  and  des230tic,  if  humanity 
was  debased,  if  the  rights  of  the  people  were  ignored,  and  if 
the  gratification  of  the  senses  was  the  paramount  object  of 
life,  we  may  trace  the  cause  to  the"  fallacious  doctrines  of  the 
philosophical  schools  of  that  era. 

Another  result  of  the  existing  philosophies  was  human 
slavery  with  its  most  repulsive  features.  Some  historians  have 
supposed  that  more  than  one-half  of  the  male  subjects  of  the 
Roman  empire  under  Augustus  were  slaves.  These  helpless 
victims  of  pagan  superstition  were  regarded  and  treated  in 
the  same  manner  as  a  modern  jockey  regards  and  treats  his 
stud  of  horses.  The  latter  slielters,  feeds,  and  carefully 
grooms  his  animals,  in  order  that  they  may  the  better  con- 
duce to  his  pride  and  pleasure ;  but  when  they  become  old 
and  useless,  they  are  sent  away  to  die  of  starvation  or  be 
shot.  So  did  the  polished  Roman  citizen  shelter,  feed,  and 
attend  his  slaves,  so  long  as  they  were  capable  of  pandering 
to  his  enjoyments ;  but  when  tliey  became  old,  and  worn  out 
in  service,  they  were  sent  to  the  islands  of  the  Tiber  to  peris^h 


THE   WOELD   AT   THE   BIRTH    OF   CUEIST.  13 

of  exposure  and  starvation.  And  the  Roman  la^ws,  founded 
ujion  Aristotelian,  Platonian,  and  Epicurean  ideas,  sanctioned 
and  legalized  these  atrocities. 

As  too  great  an  increase  of  population  might  become 
troublesome,  entail  care  and  expense,  and  thus  curtail  the 
pleasures  of  life,  abortions  and  infanticide  were  sanctioned 
and  legalized  by  the  Koman  statutes.  In  these  barbarous 
practices,  the  Roman  citizens  were  not  only  sustained  by 
law,  but  by  the  precepts  of  Aristotle. 

As  we  have  before  intimated,  the  degradation  of  females 
to  an  inferior  position  in  the  scale  of  humanity  was  another 
characteristic  feature  of  the  civilization  of  the  period  to  whicli 
we  are  alluding.  Females  were  universally  regarded  as  an 
inferior  order  of  beings,  created  to  gratify  the  sensual  de- 
sires of  men,  and  to  perpetuate  the  human  race.  They  were 
therefore  mere  adjuncts  to  the  Roman  household  establish- 
ments, as  objects  of  luxury  and  utility;  but  every  thing  like 
intellectual  companionship  and  moral  dignity  were  denied 
them  by  their  husbands  and  masters.  The  laws  and  customs 
sanctioned  these  acts  of  injustice,  until  eventually  the  sex 
became  utterly  degraded  and  debased.  Doubtless  there  were 
rare  instances  of  virtue  among  the  females  of  pagan  Rome, 
but  they  cannot  be  regarded  otherwise  than  as  exceptions  to 
the  rule.  What  else  could  have  been  expected  when  we 
contemplate  the  corrupt  teachings  of  the  accepted  philoso- 
phers and  law-makers?  *' Who  is  ignorant,"  says  Balmes, 
"  of  the  scandalous  advice  of  the  sage  Solon,  with  respect  to 
the  lending  of  Avomen  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  race  ? 
Who  has  not  blushed  to  read  what  the  divine  Plato,  in  his 
'  Republic,'  says  of  the  proprietjPand  manner  of  making  wo- 
men share  in  the  public  games  ?  Let  us  throw  a  veil  over 
recollections  so  dishonorable  to  human  wisdom.  When  the 
chief  legislators  and  sages  so  far  forgot  the  first  elements  of 
morality,  and  the  most  ordinary  inspirations  of  nature,  wliat 
must  have  been  the  case  with  the  vulgar?"  *  When  women 
of  the  most  noble  birth  and  in  the  highest  positions  openly 

*  "  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  Compared,"  page  444. 


11  CHRISTIANITY   Al^B   ITS   CONFLICTIS. 

and  voluntarily  degraded  themselves  to  the  shameless  level 
of  courtesans,  it  was  natural  that  those  in  less  elevated  con- 
ditions should  follow  the  example.  Regard  the  scandalous 
debaucheries  and  the  disgraceful  conduct  of  Julia,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Augustus  Caesar,  and  the  banishment  of  herself  and 
her  paramours  from  Home,  not  for  their  actual  immoralities, 
but  for  the  shameless  public  exhibition  of  them. 

The  conduct  of  Messalina,  the  wife  of  the  emperor 
Claudius,  has  scarcely  a  parallel  in  ancient  or  modern  times. 
This  infamous  woman  not  only  indulged  her  gross  licen- 
tiousness openly  with  various  paramours,  but  she  actu- 
ally married  one  of  them,  Silvius,  while  the  emperor  was 
still  living.  Her  obscene  debaucheries  were  only  equalled 
by  her  cruel  murders  of  the  rich  and  noble  for  the  sake  of 
seizing  their  property  and  squandering  it  w^ith  reckless  ex- 
travagance on  her  dissolute  companions. 

In  point  of  avarice,  ambition,  and  sanguinary  cruelty,  her 
successor,  the  empress  Agrippina,  the  mother  of  JSTero,  ex- 
celled her.  If  she  was  less  licentious  than  Messalina,  she 
was  equally  cruel,  and  more  ambitious  and  avaricious.  In 
order  to  place  her  infamous  son  upon  the  throne,  she  induced 
the  court  j^hysician  to  poison  her  husband  Claudius.  In  the 
same  manner  the  empress  Livia  had  previously  hastened  the 
death  of  Augustus,  by  presenting  him  with  j^oisoned  figs,  in 
order  that  her  dissolute  son  Tiberius  might  sooner  enter 
uj^on  his  career  of  despotism  and  debauchery. 

Among  the  courtesans  of  ISTero  was  Poppaea  Sabina,  who, 
after  living  with  him  in  open  adultery,  induced  him  to  put 
away  his  wife  Octavia,  to  cause  the  murder  of  his  mother 
Agrippina,  and  then  to  marry  her. 

Piancina,  the  abandoned  wife  of  Piso,  at  the  instigation 
of  Tiberius,  went  to  Syria  for  the  express  purpose  of  sedu- 
cing and  debauching  his  nephew  and  rival  Germanicus. 
This  unfortunate  prince  was  poisoned  soou  after  the  arrival 
of  this  vile  prostitute  and  murderess. 

Yv'ith  such  examples  in  high  places,  with  public  sentiment 
perverted  by  the  teachers  of  morality,  and  with  laws  and  re- 


THE    WOliLD   AT   THE   BIKTU    OF    CllIUST.  15 

ligious  riglits  which  inculcated  obscenity  and  licentiousness 
as  legitimate,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  women  of  Rome 
abandoned  themselves  to  the  revels  of  tlic  temples  of  Venus, 
of  the  public  game?,  and  of  the  numerous  public  brothels. 

If  we  examine  critically  the  condition  of  the  people  of 
Christ's  own  native  province  of  Galilee,  we  shall  find  a  so- 
ciety almost  as  depraved  as  that  of  the  Latin  race.  The 
little  town  of  Nazareth,  where  the  Saviour  was  born,  and 
resided  almost  exclusively  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  His 
life,  was  noted  throughout  Judea  in  consequence  of  the  wick- 
edness and  depravity  of  its  inhabitants.  The  most  active 
portion  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  viz.,  the  three  years  preceding 
His  crucifi^xion,  was  passed  in  Judea,  especially  in  Galilee, 
Jerusalem,  Samaria,  and  in  "  the  region  round  about  Judea." 
The  people  were  composed  principally  of  Jews,  Greeks, 
Syrians,  Phoenicians,  and  Arabs.  A  majority  of  them  w^ere 
Jews.  The  population  of  Jerusalem  was  made  up  of  Phari- 
sees, Sadducees,  Mystics,  Roman  officers  and  soldiers,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  Gentiles  from  other  parts  of  the  em- 
pire. Those  who  were  not  actually  idolaters  were  more  or 
less  tainted  w^ith  pantheism.  Even  the  most  enlightened  of 
the  Jews  had  lost,  to  a  great  extent,  nearly  all  correct  ideas 
of  God,  of  immortality,  and  of  the  religion  which  had  been 
taught  by  Moses  and  the  prophets.  As  legitimate  descend- 
ants of  Abraham,  they  believed  themselves  still  to  be  the 
chosen  people  of  Israel,  endowed  and  favored  by  the  Al- 
mighty above  all  other  men.  Thej^  were  doubtless  honest  in 
their  convictions  that  they  yet  possessed  those  divine  pre- 
cepts and  religious  observances  which  had  been  held  and 
practised  by  their  forefathers  under  Moses  and  other  divinely 
inspired  prophets.  They  were  intensely  partisan  in  their 
feelings  ;  but,  as  a  subjugated  race,  they  had  long  been 
thrown  in  contact  with  the  Gentile  Avorld — w^ith  the  Latin, 
Greek,  Pli(enician,  Syrian,  and  Arabian  subjects  of  the  em- 
pire— and  they  had  imperceptibly  imbibed  many  of  the 
idolatrous  ideas  of  these  men.  They  were  rigid  disciplina- 
rians, but  not  a  few  of  the  peculiar  notions  and  superstitions 


16  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

of  the  Roman  subjects  of  the  Caisars  had  become  incor- 
porated mto  their  religion.  While  actually  hating  the  em- 
peror, and  his  procurators,  and  other  subordinates,  they  had 
been  continually  and  unconsciously  influenced  by  the  preva- 
lent philosophies  of  the  period.  If  their  conclusions  varied 
somewhat  from  those  of  the  Roman  citizens,  it  is  neverthe- 
less true  that  a  sufiicient  number  of  errors  and  superstitions 
became  mixed  up  with  their  theology  to  render  it  displeasing 
in  the  sight  of  the  Son  of  man. 

The  Roman  civilization  had  produced  a  still  more  de- 
moralizing influence  upon  the  Sadducees.  They  were  all  of 
tliem  avowed  infidels  or  atheists,  and  their  ideas  were  more 
material  and  mundane  than  those  of  the  j)agans  themselves. 

The  Samaritans  could  not  be  regarded  as  either  Jews  or 
pagans ;  but  they  were  godless,  skeptical,  and  in  the  main 
l^antheistic. 

Both  Galilee  and  Jerusalem  contained  larcce  numbers  of 
actual  pagans,  who  openly  proclaimed  their  sentiments,  and 
who  were  especially  encouraged  and  protected  by  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  powerful  influence  exercised  by  Christianity  during 
the  days  of  Christ  and  His  apostles,  upon  the  civilization  of 
that  period,  in  the  improvement  of  morals,  the  conversion  of 
unbelievers,  the  amelioration  of  the  moral  and  social  status 
of  Avomen,  and  of  the  general  condition  of  those  in  bondage, 
was  due  in  a  great  measure  to  the  miracles  which  were 
wrought,  and  to  the  special  operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Without  these  divine  agencies,  the  Christian  religion  could 
not  have  secured  a  foothold  in  a  world  subjugated  to  pagan 
philosophies  and  idolatry,  and  to  the  jDrevalent  superstitions 
of  Judaism.  Unaided  by  the  marvellous  deeds  performed 
by  the  Saviour  and  His  disciples,  Christianity  could  not  have 
survived  the  crucifixion  of  the  Son  of  man.  Unassisted  by 
supernatural  power  from  on  high,  the  Church  which  Christ 
founded  would  have  been  summarily  swejDt  from  the  earth 
by  the  multitudes  of  idolaters  and  perverted  Jews  who  were 
in  the  midst  of  them,  and  sought  their  lives.     Even  with 


THE   WOELD   AT   THE   BERTn   OF   CHKIST.  17 

these  supernatural  advantages,  the  earlier  generations  of 
Christians  were  many  times  apparently  upon  the  brink  of 
extermination.  Often  were  they  pursued  to  mountains, 
caves,  and  desolate  places  to  escape  massacre  at  the  hands 
of  sanguinary  Pharisees,  Sadducees,  and  pagans.  These  per- 
secutions were  continued  until  the  accession  of  Constantino, 
under  whose  wise  reign  Christianity  was  fostered  and  Chris- 
tians were  protected. 

The  Christian  Church  has  undoubtedly  been  the  most  po- 
tent agent  of  both  ancient  and  modern  civilization.  Indeed, 
during  the  first  1,500  years  of  our  era  it  was  almost  the  only 
agent  oi  moral  civilization.  We  use  the  tenu  moral  in  con- 
tradistinction to  that  material  civilization  which  pertains  to 
art,  science,  and  literature.  It  includes  those  obligations 
and  duties  which  man  owes  to  his  Creator  and  to  his  fellow- 
men,  like  the  love  of  God,  faith  in  the  Christian  religion, 
brotherly  love,  charity,  hope,  gentleness,  benevolence,  chas- 
tity, and  all  of  those  sentiments  and  feelings  which  elevate, 
refine,  and  Christianize  mankind.  During  the  first  centuries, 
as  Ave  have  already  observed,  the  Church  existed  in  the 
midst  of  an  advanced  state  of  material  civilization.  Poetry, 
oratory,  philosophy,  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  and 
whatever  was  calculated  to  please  the  senses,  were  all  in  a 
very  high  state  of  development.  But,  morally  and  socially, 
the  world  was  enveloped  in  the  darkness  of  paganism  and 
Pharisaical  superstition.  If  gorgeous  synagogues,  j^alaces, 
temples,  and  public  baths  were  to  be  seen  on  every  hand, 
adorned  by  the  highest  genius  of  the  architect,  the  sculptor, 
and  the  painter,  with  their  mute  appeals  to  the  lovers  of 
grandeur,  beauty,  utility,  and  luxury,  let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that  idolatry,  gross  sensuality,  contempt  for  the  female  sex, 
indilTerence  to  all  moral,  social,  and  domestic  ties,  and  utter 
selfishness  presided  over  these  marvellous  tabernacles.  If 
spacious  amphitheatres,  arenas,  and  parks  of  fabulous  cost 
were  everywhere  open  and  free  to  the  Koman  citizen,  let  it 
be  remembered  that  they  were  the  ofispring  of  pagan  cruelty, 
pagan  intolerance,  and  of  a  public  sentiment  which  held  man 


18  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

in  the  same  estimation  as  it  held  the  wild  beast  of  the  arena. 
If  heaven-born  genius  wrought  from  marble  or  canvas  the 
human  form  vivified,  and  perfect  in  symmetry  and  grace,  let 
it  be  acknowledged  that  the  representations,  while  enchant- 
ing the  eyes,  made  their  chief  appeal  to  the  grosser  passions. 
If  literature  scattered  profusely  her  polished  sentences,  glit- 
tering Avith  flashes  of  imagination,  wit,  fancy,  and  beautiful 
and  high-wrought  descriptions,  her  efforts  were  squandered 
in  j^raise  of  some  lascivious  heathen  goddess,  or  to  arouse 
ignoble  sentiments  and  emotions.  With  no  appreciation  of 
individual  dignity  or  moral  excellence,  the  dominant  object 
of  the  j)eople  of  Jewish  and  pagan  Rome  and  Greece,  during 
the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  was  to  please, 
to  excite,  and  to  gratify  their  senses.  Whatever  stood  in 
the  way  of  their  sensual  gratification  was  swept  aside,  and 
the  faculties  and  lives  of  women,  children,  and  bondmen 
were  all  rendered  subservient  to  the  one  controlling  idea. 
On  one  occasion,  after  a  victory,  the  inhuman  spectacles  of 
the  amphitheatre  and  the  arena  were  kej^t  up  for  a  period 
of  twenty-three  days,  and  at  a  cost  of  more  than  six  thou- 
sand human  lives. 

If  heroic  deeds  were  performed,  they  were  inspired  solely 
by  national  pride,  and  a  desire  to  enhance  the  power  and 
glory  of  the  republic  or  the  empire.  Individual  dignity 
and  moral  rectitude  Avere  not  taken  into  account.  To  be 
able  to  say,  Civis  RoinaniLin  sum,  was  the  highest  and  sole 
ambition.  The  state  was  father,  master,  and  the  only  foun- 
tain of  honor  and  glory.  In  place  of  personal  pride,  ambi- 
tion, respect,  and  honor,  individuality  Avas  absorbed  in 
national  poAver  and  greatness.  Actuated  and  inspired  by 
these  general  sentiments,  the  Koman  citizen  was  an  object 
of  unmitigated  selfishness  and  unbridled  sensuality,  unre- 
strained by  any  appreciation  of  the  dignity  of  man,  or  of 
simple  justice,  humanity,  or  moral  rectitude. 

It  was  to  convert,  reform,  and  save  a  Avorld  composed  of 
such  materials,  that  God  became  incarnate  upon  earth.  It 
was  in  the  midst  of  such  pagan  and  JcAvish  wolves  that  the 


THE    WOKLD   AT   THE   BIIiTII    OF    CKlilST.  VJ 

Lamb  of  God  first  commenced  His  holy  mission  ;  and  as  His 
disciples  and  their  successors  struggled  on  in  the  heavenly- 
course  during  the  first  three  hundred  years,  they  preached 
and  prayed,  and  adored  the  living  God,  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  cruel  persecutions,  and  with  pagan  swords  continually 
at  their  throats,  often  sealing  their  faith  with  their  blood. 
While  Christ  and  His  apostles  were  preaching  brotherly  love, 
charity,  mercy,  forbearance,  and  forgiveness,  the  idolatrous 
and  bloodthirsty  tyrant  and  emperor  Tiberius,  and  his  pliant 
minions,  were  slaughtering  their  enemies  and  the  friends  of 
the  republic  by  thousands,  to  gratify  their  desire  for  revenge 
and  bloodshed.  While  a  handful  of  devoted  Christians  were 
inculcating  by  words  and  acts  the  divine  precept,  "  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself,"  the  subjects  of  Tiberius — those  lauded  men  of 
the  "  golden  age  " — held  the  entire  female  sex  in  a  condition 
of  beastly  degradation,  in  order  to  gratify  their  unhallowed 
lusts,  and  retained  in  servile  bondage  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  white  sln^ves  to  minister  to  their  pride,  pomp,  and  luxury. 
While  the  servants  of  Christ  respected  every  creature  made 
in  the  image  of  God,  and  endeavored  to  ameliorate,  elevate, 
and  Christianize  every  soul,  Avhether  bond  or  free,  the  haughty 
emperor  and  his  proud  Roman  citizens  ivere  daily  sacrificing 
their  dependants  and  slaves  to  some  heathen  god,  or  subjecting 
them  to  the  deadly  contests  of  the  amphitheatre  of  wild  beasts, 
or  the  gladiatorial  arena,  to  gratify  an  inhuman  and  blood- 
thirsty mob.  The  followers  of  Jesus  j^reached  and  practised 
morality,  chastity,  benevolence,  brotherly  love,  and  raised 
aloft  those  divine  principles  which  dignify  and  ennoble  men 
and  women  as  individuals.  Tiberius  and  his  classical  i:)agans 
advocated  and  practised  the  pursuit  of  pleasure  and  self- 
indulgence  as  the  chief  objects  of  life,  and  made  humanity, 
morality,  justice,  and  even  decency  subservient  to  them. 
Llcas  of  individual  dignity,  or  of  spiritual  and  moral  re- 
sponsibility, were  never  dreamed  of  by  these  materially  culti- 
vated pagans. 

The   Jews  of  Jerusalem   and  Galilee   were   rather  less 


20  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

powerful  to  oppress  and  persecute  Jesus  and  His  discij^les 
than  their  Roman  rulers,  but  in  their  hearts  they  were 
equally  malignant  and  vindictive. 

In  such  a  condition  of  society,  it  required  the  continual 
presence  and  influence  of  the  Almighty  to  introduce  and 
establish  the  religion  of  Christ.  Opposed  as  it  was  to  the 
entire  social,  moral,  and  religious  system  of  the  age — clash- 
ing with  the  prejudices,  the  selfishness,  the  licentiousness, 
and  the  pride  of  the  peoj^le,  it  was  resisted  with  deadly  hos- 
tility at  every  step.  Our  Saviour,  His  apostles,  and  their 
successors  were  regarded  as  personal  enemies  who  had  come 
among  them  to  overthrow  their  cherished  philosophies  and 
the  superstitions  of  Judaism,  and  to  disorganize  and  change 
their  entire  social,  moral,  and  religious  condition,  and  to  sub- 
stitute instead  the  divine  maxims  of  Jesus  of  N'azareth. 
Earnestly  believing  in  the  received  religions  and  j)hilosophies, 
ij^roud  of  national  glory  ^  but  utterly  regardless  oiincUvidual 
honor  and  dignity,  they  lived  solely  for  jDcrsonal  gratifica- 
tion, and  they  rendered  every  thing  in  the  political,  mor- 
al, and  social  sphere  subservient  to  this  end.  It  was  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  these  men  thirsted  for  the  blood  of 
Christ  and  His  followers.  It  was  not  strange  that  the  Church 
was  moistened  with  the  blood  of  Christian  martyrs  during 
the  first  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  Mere  human  agency 
could  not  have  sustained  and  preserved  the  Christian  religion' 
until  the  conversion  of  Constantino.  The  elements  of  oppo- 
sition were  too  numerous,  too  powerful,  too  deeply  rooted  in 
the  perverted  and  vicious  hearts  of  the  people,  too  deadly 
and  determined  to  have  afforded  a  hope  of  the  successful  in- 
troduction and  establishment  of  Christianity,  unless  it  had 
been  continually  aided  by  a  direct  interposition  from  on 
high.  Tliis  same  blessed  influence  has  remained  with  the 
same  Church,  and  sustained  it  and  blessed  it  up  to  the  pres- 
ent moment.  While  false  teachers  and  false  proj^hets  have 
everywhere  sprung  into  existence,  blown  about  by  every 
wind  of  doctrine,  setting  up  creeds  of  men  in  j^lace  of  the 
religion  of  Christ,  distracting  the  world  by  innumerable,  con- 


THE   WOELD    AT   THE    BIETII    OF    CIIKIST.  21 

tradictory,  and  contending  sects,  and  rendering  tlie  Chris- 
tian religion  (which  is  composed  of  "  one  Lord,  one  faitli, 
and  one  baptism" )  a  mockery  and  a  byword  to  imbelievers, 
the  Catholic  Church  has  ever  remained  where  Jesus  her 
founder  planted  her — upon  the  rock  of  truth — indestruc- 
tible, immutable,  and  permanent. 

M.  Guizot,  in  his  able  and  usually  candid  work  on  the 
"  History  of  Civilization  in  Europe,"  asserts  that  there  was  no 
"Christian  Church,  with  its  institutions,  its  magistrates,  its 
authority,"  until  the  fourth  century.  He  supposes  that  the 
Church  which  was  founded  by  Christ  before  His  ascension, 
with  its  organization  of  ecclesiastical "  magistrates,"  endowed 
with  "  authority  "  as  pastors  and  shepherds  over  the  Christian 
flock,  which  was  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  against  which  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail, 
had  no  established  princij)les,  no  discipline,  and  no  authorized 
ministers  during  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 
'^  In  its  infancy,"  says  M.  Guizot,  "  in  its  very  babyhood,  Chris- 
tian society  presents  itself  before  us  as  a  simple  association  of 
men  possessing  the  same  faith  and  opinions,  the  same  senti- 
ments and  feelings.  The  first  Christians  met  to  enjoy  to- 
gether their  common  emotions,  their  common  religious  con- 
victions. At  this  time  we  find  no  settled  form  of  doctrine, 
no  settled  rules  of  discipline,  no  body  of  magistrates."  * 

Surely  M.  Guizot  will  not  deny  that  when  Christ  returned 
to  heaven.  He  left  behind  Him  a  visible  Church,  with  regu- 
larly consecrated  ministers,  possessing  authority  not  only  to 
teach  and  preach  a  "  settled  form  of  doctrine  " — like  faith, 
repentance,  baptism,  and  obedience  to  the  commandments — 
but  that  He  actually  designated  a  head  "  magistrate  "  to  this 
divinely  instituted  ecclesiastical  organization,  in  the  jDcrson 
of  Peter,  who  was  to  preside  over  the  other  officers  of  the 
Church  and  see  that  her  "  discipline  "  and  her  "  doctrines  "  were 
faithfully  obeyed.  No  one  will  deny  that  it  was  the  chief  mis- 
sion of  Christ  on  earth  to  instruct  mankind  in  a  "  settled  form 
of  doctrine,"  and  to  found  a  visible  ecclesiastical  organization 

*  Vol.  i.,  p.  49. 


22  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

or  church,  with  teachers  and  ministers  to  inculcate  and  per- 
petuate this  doctrine;  and  no  one  will  assert  that  our  Saviour 
failed  in  His  object.  It  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  God  would  establish  His  Church,  His  bishops  and 
priests,  and  a  settled  and  positive  code  of  principles  and 
ceremonies,  during  His  sojourn  below,  and  on  His  departure, 
peraait  this  organization  to  become  extinct  for  three  cen- 
turies ! 

"  As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,  I  also  send  you.  And  when 
He  had  said  this  He  breathed  on  them,  and  He  said  to  them : 
Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost :  whose  sins  you  shall  forgive,  they 
are  forgiven  thcin,  and  whose  sins  you  shall  retain,  they  are 
retained."  *  St.  Paul,  following  the  example  of  Christ,  or- 
dained Timothy  and  Titus,  and  sent  them  away  to  teach,  and 
to  ordain  others,  charging  them  as  follows :  "  Stir  up  the 
grace  of  God,  which  is  in  thee,  by  the  imposition  of  My 
hands."!  "And  tlie  things  which  thou  hast  heard  of  Me 
by  many  witnesses,  the  same  commend  to  faithful  men,  v  ho 
shall  be  fit  to  teach  others  also."  J 

"For  Ms  cause  I  left  thee  in  Crete  ....  that  thou  shouldst 
ordain  priests  in  every  city,  as  I  also  appointed  thee."  § 

From  this  first  quotation  it  is  evident  that  Christ  conse- 
crated His  apostles,  endowed  them  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  con- 
ferred upon  them  the  power  of  binding  and  loosing  from  sin, 
and  then  sent  them  as  His  special  rej)resentatives  to  teach  and 
practise  the  doctrines  vdiich  they  had  received  from  Him,  and 
which  He  had  received  from  the  Father.  Here,  then,  was  an 
organized  body  of  men,  divinely  appointed  and  ordained  to 
sustain  the  Church  which  Christ  had  established,  with  its  set- 
tled code  of  princi2:>les  and  sacraments.  From  the  declara- 
tions of  St.  Paul  and  other  apostles,  it  is  clear  that  Christ  in- 
structed them  and  their  successors  to  perpetuate  this  ecclesi- 
astical organization,  in  order  that  His  Church  might  be  ever 
visible,  immutable,  and  operative.  Says  St.  Paul,  "  God  hath 
reconciled  us  to  Himself  by  Christ ;  and  hath  given  to  us  the 

*  John  sx.  21,  22,  25.  \  2  Timothy  i.  6. 

X  2  Timothy  ii.  2.  §  Titus  i.  5. 


THE   WORLD   AT   THE   BIETII    OF   CHRIST.  23 

ministry  of  reconciliation For  Christ  therefore  \\q  are 

ambassadors."  * 

In  view  of  the  facts  that  Christ  became  incarnate  for  the 
express  purpose  of  teaching  mankind  His  holy  truths,  and 
of  preserving  and  transmitting  them  to  future  generations, 
tlirough  a  regularly  organized  Church  and  ministry,  and  that 
His  love  for  this  Church  was  so  great  that  He  willingly  sut- 
fered  and  died  for  it,  the  inference  is  irresistible  that  the 
"  Christian  Church,  its  institutions,  its  magistrates,  and  its 
authority  "  has  existed  uninterruptedly  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  "  Christ  loved  the  Church,  and  delivered  Himself 
up  for  it ;  that  He  might  sanctify  it,  cleansing  it  by  the  laver 
of  water  in  the  word  of  life."  f 

"  Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and 
ordained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit."  J 

On  one  occasion  when  Christ  was  addressing  the  multi- 
tude, He  distinctly  recognized  the  superior  functions  of  His 
ecclesiastical  magistrates.  "And  the  disciples  came,  and  said 
unto  Him,  why  speakest  Thou  unto  them  in  parables  ?  Ho 
answered  and  said  unto  them.  Because  it  is  given  unto  you 
to  know  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  to  them 
(the  multitude)  it  is  not  given."  § 

The  fact  that  the  first  bishops  and  priests  of  the  Church 
did  not  worship  in  temples,  and  exercise  the  authority  and 
functions  of  tlie  priesthood  openly  and  publicly,  will  account 
for  the  hasty  inference  of  M.  Guizot,  that  there  existed  no 
ecclesiastical  organization  and  no  consecrated  priesthood 
during  the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era.  What 
was  the  condition  of  these  early  Christians  ?  Dvv^elling  in 
the  midst  of  idolatrous  pagans,  demoralized  sects,  and  athe- 
ists who  hated  Christianity  because  it  opposed  a  barrier  to 
their  passions  and  pleasures,  and  who  persecuted  and  mur- 
dered all  who  professed  or  practised  its  beneficent  doctrines, 
these  bishops  and  priests  of  the  first  century  were  obliged  to 

*  2  Corinthians  x.  18-20.  f  Ephesians  v.  25,  2G. 

X  John  XV.  16.  §  Matthew  xiii.  10,  11. 


24=  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

preach,  teach,  and  practise  then*  religion,  to  consecrate  their 
ministers,  and  to  preserve  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  Church  in  dark  catacombs,  caves,  and  secluded 
forests.  For  the  most  part,  they  were  obliged  to  meet  by 
stealth,  and  at  the  imminent  risk  of  their  lives.  Pagan  spies 
were  at  every  door,  watching  the  outgoings  and  the  in- 
comings of  every  suspected  Christian,  reporting  every  sus- 
picious word,  thus  furnishing  abundant  victims  for  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  Colosseum,  or  for  Jewish  and  pagan  crosses. 
Under  such  circumstances,  was  it  to  be  expected  that  the 
ecclesiastical  "  magistrates  "  to  whom  M.  Guizot  alludes — 
the  bishops  and  priests  of  the  Church  who  had  been  succes- 
sively ordained  as  her  ministers  and  guardians  since  the  days 
of  Christ — would  expose  themselves  to  certain  martyrdom  by 
public  professions  and  practices  of  their  religion  ?  M.  Guizot 
will  admit  that  Christ  did  found  a  Church,  did  designate  by 
name  its  head  officer,  and  did  promise  that  it  should  exist 
forever.  Was  this  Church  founded  simply  in  order  that  a 
"  few  of  the  first  Christians  might  meet  together  to  enjoy 
their  common  emotions  ? "  Did  Christ  found  His  Church 
upon  a  rock  and  present  to  St.  Peter  the  keys,  without  any 
"  settled  form  of  doctrine,  any  settled  rules  of  discipline,  or 
any  body  of  magistrates  ?  "  If,  in  the  time  of  Christ  and 
the  apostles,  ecclesiastical  niagistrates  were  appointed  and 
consecrated  to  carry  on  the  Church  organization,  and  to  ex- 
ercise pastoral  authority  over  the  faithful,  is  it  probable  that 
these  appointments  and  this  organization  would  cease  to 
exist  after  the  ascension  of  Christ  and  the  death  of  the 
apostles  ?  Is  it  probable  that  the  divine  Guardian  would  so 
soon  abandon  the  sacred  heritage  which  had  been  so  merci- 
fully bequeathed  to  mankind  ?  It  is  quite  true  that  neither 
Seneca,  nor  Tacitus,  nor  Pliny  alludes  to  any  church  organ- 
ization, nor  to  bishops  and  j^riests  ;  but  they  were  men  of  the 
world,  politicians,  lovers  of  comfort  and  honor,  and  whose 
pleasures  were  in  the  senate-house,  the  lyceum,  the  academic 
groves,  and  in  the  smiles  of  the  noble  and  great,  not  in  the 
Catacombs  which  harbored  the  persecuted  Christian  outlaws. 


THE    WOULD   AT   THE   BIKTH    OF    CnPJST.  25 

The  first  Christians  composed  but  a  small  portion  of  the 
population,  were  obscure,  poor,  despised,  and  persecuted. 
Any  announcement  of  Christian  faith,  or  any  conversion  to 
it,  was  punishable  with  deatli.  The  very  fact  that  the  Church 
lias  survived,  retaining-  within  her  bosom  the  Scriptures  and 
the  sacred  traditions  and  observances,  notwithstanding  the 
vast  powers  which  were  arrayed  against  her  under  Tiberius, 
Nero,  Claudius,  Caligula,  etc.,  proves  not  only  a  continuous 
ecclesiastical  organization,  but  the  ever-sustaining  presence 
of  God. 

In  organizing  this  Church,  which  "  Christ  loved  and  de- 
livered Himself  Kj)  for, ^"^  and  in  ordaining  its  authorized  min- 
isters for  the  purpose  of  announcing  and  explaining  the  doc- 
trines and  requirements  which  He  had  received  from  the 
Father,  and  Avhicli  He  had  communicated  to  them,  our 
Saviour  intended  to  establish  and  perpetuate  a  "  settled  form 
of  doctrine  " — divine,  immutable,  and  everlasting.  He  did 
not  design  that  these  sacred  truths  should  be  submitted  to 
the  people  by  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  for  discus- 
sion, for  criticism,  and  for  private  interpretation,  v»'ith  liberty 
to  alter  and  amend,  or  reject  them,  as  ignorance,  prejudice,  or 
caprice  might  dictate.  He  did  not  submit  His  doctrines  to 
the  judgments  or  criticisms  of  the  Scribes,  Pharisees,  Saddu- 
cees,  and  lawyers  of  Jerusalem,  or  to  the  learned  and  polished 
litterateurs  of  Rome.  He  never  j^retended  to  sanction  what 
is  termed  in  modern  times  "  freedom  of  conscience "  and 
"private  interpretation,"  but  He  demanded  unconditional 
faith  and  obedience  in  the  teachings  of  Himself  and  His  in- 
spired apostles.  He  announced  a  fixed  code  of  religious 
principles  and  observances,  directly  opposed  to  the  opinions 
and  practices  of  the  entire  civilized  world ;  and  He  appointed 
and  consecrated  a  special  class  of  men  as  His  agents,  repre- 
sentatives, and  "  ambassadors,"  to  teach,  practice,  and  perpet- 
uate them.  They  were  to  teach,  among  other  things,  the 
necessity  of  faith  in  Himself  and  in  all  His  words  and  Avorks, 
however  repugnant  they  might  appear  to  human  reason. 
He  did  not  give  to  His  priesthood  any  discretion  to  submit 
2 


26  CHEISTlAls'ITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

these  precejDts  to  the  fallible  judgments  of  their  hearers,  with 
permission  to  receive  a  part  and  reject  a  part ;  but  they  were 
commanded  simply  to  declare  the  law  and  the  necessity  of 
receiving  it  without  reservation  or  discussion.  If  the  doc- 
trines of  Christianity  had  always  been  submitted  to  the 
capricious  interpretations  of  the  illiterate,  the  depraved,  and 
the  skeptical  public,  during  the  early  and  middle  centuries, 
not  a  vestige  of  the  religion  of  Christ  w^ould  novf  have  re- 
mained for  us,  but  universal  skepticism  Avould  have  cursed 
the  world.  This  is  evident  from  the  actual  results  of  modern 
Protestantism,  as  we  have  elsewhere  demonstrated. 

The  mission  and  declarations  of  Christ  on  earth,  tlie  teach- 
ings and  practices  of  the  apostles,  the  violent  persecutions 
and  the  frequent  martyrdoms  of  Christians  during  the  first 
centuries,  afford  conclusive  evidence  that  the  Church  organi- 
zation, with  its  officers,  its  authority,  its  "  settled  form  of 
doctrine,"  and  its  sacramental  observances,  has  never  ceased 
to  exist  and  to  bear  fruits  since  its  first  foundation.  Christ 
and  His  apostles  v/ere  obliged  to  preach  and  j^^'J^ctise  Chris- 
tianity in  mountains,  wildernesses,  on  the  sea-shore,  and  to 
be  ever  on  the  alert  to  avoid  the  persecutions  and  murderous 
attacks  of  their  enemies.  They  were  continually  driven  from 
place  to  place,  insulted,  stoned,  whipped,  and  tormented, 
until,  finally,  the  Saviour  and  several  of  the  apostles  w^ere 
actually  crucified.  During  the  reigns  of  the  emperors  of  the 
line  of  Cajsar,  and  onward  through  generations  of  malignant 
and  sanguinary  persecution,  up  to  the  time  of  Constantine, 
a  similar  public  sentiment  existed  against  the  Christians, 
■which  rendered  open  and  public  declaration,  profession,  or 
practice  of  Christianity  entirely  impracticable.  While  Christ 
and  the  apostles  lived,  Christianity  did  not  become  suffi- 
ciently extended  and  powerful  to  excite  any  serious  appre- 
hensions on  the  part  of  paganism ;  but  as  the  number  of 
converts  increased,  and  became  a  power  of  the  empire,  fear 
of  Christian  influence  was  superadded  to  existing  hatred, 
and  a  corresponding  increase  of  persecution  and  cruelty  was 
the  result.     These  facts  fully  explain  why  the  Church  was  so 


THE   WOELD   AT   THE   BIliTH    OF   CHKIST.  27 

little  visible  during  the  first  throe  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  and  why  historians  have  made  so  few  allusions  to  the 
organization  and  its  officers  and  authority. 

What  is  the  object  of  religion  ?  Let  us  answer  in  the 
vrords  of  M.  Guizot:  "It  is  to  govern  the  human  passions, 
the  human  will.  All  religion  is  a  restraint,  an  authority,  a 
government.  It  comes  in  the  name  of  a  divine  law,  to  sub- 
due, to  mortify  human  nature.  It  is  then  to  himian  liberty 
tliat  it  directly  opposes  itself.  It  is  human  liberty  that  re- 
sists it,  and  that  it  wishes  to  overcome.  This  is  the  grand 
object  of  religion,  its  mission,  its  hope. 

"  But,  while  it  is  with  human  liberty  that  all  religions  have 
to  contend,  while  they  aspire  to  reform  the  will  of  man,  they 
have  no  means  by  which  they  can  act  upon  him — they  have 
no  moral  power  over  him,  but  through   his   own   will,  his 

liberty Before  religions  can  really  accomplish  their 

task,  it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  accepted  by  the 
free-will  of  man :  it  is  necessary  that  man  should  submit, 
but  it  must  be  willingly  and  freely,  and  that  he  still  pre- 
serves his  liberty  in  the  midst  of  this  submission."  * 

The  first  paragraph  of  this  quotation  is  strictly  true, 
while  the  last  is  true  only  to  a  certain  extent.  The  object 
of  religion  is  to  subjugate  and  control  the  perverse  desires 
and  propensities  of  the  human  heart,  and  to  enforce  obe- 
dience to  the  divine  commandments.  The  moral  power  which 
the  Catholic  Church  has  always  exercised  over  man,  has  been 
the  simple  presentation  of  the  settled  and  immutable  truths 
of  Christianity,  like  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  obedience  to 
His  commandments,  under  the  penalty  of  everlasting  jDunish- 
ment.  To  be  efiicient,  these  holy  truths  must  not  only  be 
addressed  to  the  intelligence  of  men,  with  a  view  to  con- 
vincing their  reason  of  their  justice,  but  the  practice  of  them 
must  be  inculcated  by  such  means  as  are  best  calculated  to 
overcome  the  obstinate  and  sinful  disobedience  of  believers. 
The  Church  always  appeals  to  the  reason  of  men,  sets  before 
them  the  plain  precepts  which  the  Father  revealed  to  the 

*  "IligtciT  of  Civilization,"  vol.  i.,  p.  1S8. 


28  CIIPJSTIANITT    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Son,  and  whicli  He  revealed  to  the  apostles  and  tlieir  succes- 
sors, and  then  demands  obedience  under  the  penalties  an- 
nounced in  Holy  Writ.  The  reason  of  man  may  accept  a 
truth  theoretically,  while  his  sinful  nature  rejects  it  prac- 
tically. If  at  times  the  Catholic  Churcli  has  enforced  strin- 
gent rules  of  discipline,  they  have  ever  been  directed  to 
insure  obedience  to  conceded  truths.  The  great  principles  of 
Christianity  are  presented  to  the  free-will  of  man,  to  accept 
or  reject,  but  not  to  alter  or  pervert.  He  has  perfect  liberty 
to  receive  and  profit  by  them,  or  to  reject  them  and  abide 
the  consequences ;  but  he  has  not  liberty  to  misinterpret  and 
change  a  jot  or  tittle  of  the  Word  of  God.  There  must  be 
some  limit  to  human  liberty  and  to  self-will.  For  example, 
in  a  democracy,  the  people  govern;  they  elect  rulers,  create 
laws,  and  determine  governmental  policies.  But  the  politi- 
cal organization  limits  this  liberty  and  self-will.  Thus,  an 
enthusiast  demands  a  division  of  property,  a  plurality  of 
^T.ves,  etc.,  but  common-sense  and  common-law  step  in  and 
restrict  his  liberty,  curb  his  free-will,  and  force  him  to  obey 
the  laws  as  commonly  interpreted.  The  Church  organization 
acts  in  the  same  manner.  It  offers  to  all  the  divine  laws, 
and  inculcates  obedience  to  them ;  but  it  places  restraints  on 
licentiousness  of  opinion,  and  palpable  violations  of  the  laws 
of  God. 

As  regards  the  labors  of  the  first  apostles,  and  the  spirit 
which  actuated  them,  all  Christians  are  in  unison.  A  very 
casual  examination  of  the  great  works  accomplished  by  these 
devoted  men,  will  demonstrate  the  fact  that  they  were  not 
only  a  thoroughly  organized  "  body  of  magistrates,"  but  a 
very  industrious  and  efficient  organization.  N^or  was  there 
any  uncertainty  as  to  the  "form  of  doctrine"  they  taught. 
The  principles  they  announced  vrere  always  explicit,  compre- 
hensive, clear,  and  uniform ;  and  they  were  delivered  to  the 
multitudes  vvdio  heard  them  as  articles  of  absolute  and  un- 
questioning faith  and  practice,  not  for  discussion  and  private 
interpretation. 

The  first  apostles  were  more  eloquent  than  other  men. 


THE   WORLD   AT   THE   BIRTH    OF    CHRIST.  29 

and  more  potent  in  their  influence  only  because  tlieir  hearts 
were  more  pervaded  by  the  spirit  of  their  Master;  and  they 
^Yrought  out  more  sublimely  that  love  with  which  their  Lord 
had  imbued  them.  If  their  successors,  tliough  superior  in 
mental  strength  and  human  learning,  did  not  all  possess 
that  deep  faith  and  that  deep  love  which  the  first  followers  of 
Jesus  displayed,  still  they  were  illumined  in  a  degree  which 
raised  them  vastly  above  any  teachers  of  human  wisdom 
that  the  world  had  ever  seen.  Thus  enlightened,  they  em- 
ployed the  trutlis  impressed  upon  them  by  their  Divine  Mas- 
ter in  bringing  men  from  darkness  to  light ;  and,  however 
we  may  contemplate  them  as  men  living  in  a  dark  age  of  the 
world's  history,  and  estimate  their  spiritual  character  and 
power,  and  compare  them  with  the  pagan  philosophers  and 
Jewish  priests,  these  Fathers  of  the  earlij  days  of  the  Church 
gave  out  a  icondrous  light. 

They  felt  that  Christianity  was  a  i)Ower  that  must  revo- 
lutionize the  world.  They  knew  that  there  was  saving 
health  in  the  life  of  the  Lord.  They  were  heroic  in  their 
lives,  and  in  their  self  sacrifice  and  devotion  to  His  service. 
They  were  not  afraid  that  the  episcopal  garments  they  wore 
Avould  be  stained  by  their  treading  in  desolate  places ;  and 
they  condescended  to  speak  to  the  ojDpressed  man  or  woman 
as  to  a  brother  or  a  sister.  They  were  not  afraid  to  stand 
up  and  advocate  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  wherever 
tliey  were  found.  They  preached  everywhere  that  man  loas 
man. 

Again:  They  were  disinterested. — If  they  differed  in 
vrorldly  things  among  themselves ;  if  they  were  men — and 
whenever  men  try  to  settle  matters  of  opinion  by  employing 
their  intellectual  powers,  they  are  liable  to  fall  into  errors ; 
if  they  found  it  impossible  to  settle  supernatural  problems  by 
their  own  natural  mental  powers — still  the  early  Fathers  of  tlie 
Church  held  fiist  to  the  revealed  doctrines  they  had  received ; 
and  in  them,  and  in  their  adherence  to  them,  they  found  the 
elements  that  were  needed  for  the  re2:eneration  of  human 
society,  tliough  society  was  then  debased  beyond  any  thing 


30  CimiSTlANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

that  we  can  now  realize.  They  were,  in  all  respects,  superior 
to  the  best  men  of  the  heathen  world. 

First,  on  the  ground  of  moral  purity. — ISTo  man,  unless 
he  has  waded  through  oceans  of  the  old  Koman  literature, 
can  form  any,  even  an  imperfect  idea  or  conception  of  the 
world  as  it  then  was,  or  how  corrupt  was  the  best  civilized 
society  of  that  day.  We  have  heard  men  refer  to  Paris  as 
the  representative  of  impurity  among  modern  cities.  But 
Paris  in  its  worst  days — Paris  in  the  latter  days  of  the  reign 
of  Louis  X  Y. — if  Paris  liad  been  extended  till  it  should  take 
in  a  population  of  millions,  would  afibrd  but  an  imperfect 
illustration  of  what  Rome  was  in  the  days  of  its  decline,  and 
through  all  the  days  and  j^ears  in  whicli  paganism  ruled 
there. 

And  it  was  in  the  midst  of  all  this  profligacy  and  wicked- 
ness that  the  advocates  of  Cln-istianity  through  three  hun- 
dred years  of  heathen  persecution  labored  for  the  regenera- 
tion of  human  society.  It  may  not  be  possible  for  us  to 
realize  how  much  they  did  accomplish. 

They  organized  the  family  y  and  the  primitive  divine 
idea  of  a  pure  household  rose  u]),  a  green  paradise-island  out 
of  the  almost  universal  decay.  They  raised  up  marriage, 
as  a  divine  institution  ;  they  raised  woman  from  her  ancient 
slavery  and  thrall,  and  established  the  everlasting  sanctuary 
of  the  HOME.  They  rescued  childhood  from  the  hell  of 
ancient  tyranny  ;  they  consecrated  virginity  and  hallowed  it ; 
and  opened  through  purified  generation  the  way  for  the 
more  perfect  humanity  of  the  coming  time. 

They  were  right  in  another  thing  also.  They  broke  down 
the  barriers  of  caste ;  and  thus  tliey  y)rcpared  the  way  for 
the  idea  of  human  brotherhood  to  descend  upon  men  to  be 
gradually  understood  and  received.  And  while  they  were 
thus  teaching  by  precept  and  example  the  living  truths  of 
the  Christian  Church,  what  was  Rome,  the  metropolis  of 
heathenism  ?  An  enormous.  Titanic,  demonized  monster  of 
oppression.  A  great  confederacy  of  j^agan  states,  which  had 
nowhere  any  moral  law.     And  oh,  how  did  the  proud  im- 


TUE   WOELD   AT   THE   BIRTH    OF   CUEIST.  31 

perial  city  of  the  Crcsars  tyrannize  in  brutal  barbarism  over 
fallen  and  suffering  men !  She  vras  the  purchaser  and  the 
seller,  the  trader  in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  all  classes  of  her 
subjects ;  permittino-  ilie  noblest  of  her  people  to  be  mur- 
dered in  the  amphitheatres  by  wild  beasts,  merely  to  gratify 
the  brutal  passions  of  the  populace.     This,  this  was  Rome  ! 

The  Fathers  of  the  earlier  days  of  Christianity,  in  labor- 
ino-  for  the  restoration  of  human  brotherhood,  felt,  more 
deeply  perhaps  than  we  of  this  time,  the  nineteenth  century, 
can  feel,  that  men^  everywhere,  were  brothers.  And  they 
felt  more  intensely  than  Christians  of  later  times  appear  to 
feel,  that  when  men  devoted  themselves  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  they  stood  in  spirit-freedom  before  Him  as 
tlieir  Divine  Master.  Men  have  since  wondered  how  the 
great  masses  of  benighted  men  could  j^ossibly  be  reached  by 
the  preaching  of  a  few  plain  men  who  had  all  the  powers  of 
Satan  and  the  v»^orld  against  them.  The  reason  was  this : 
brotherhood  was  preached  and  practised ;  and  there  was  a 
moral  power  in  the  preaching  and  in  the  example  of  such 
men. 

Again,  they  were  successful,  because  moral  and  Christian 
purity  of  life  was  preached  and  practised.  And  men  be- 
lieved in  the  divine  mission  of  the  heralds  of  the  Christian 
faith,  because  the  Divine  Man  they  represented  was  symbol- 
ized in  those  messengers  who  were  seen  to  be  inspired  by 
His  Spirit. 

Again,  they  were  successfiil,  because  in  the  visions  of  the 
future  they  unfolded  the  coming  spiritual  commonwealth, 
where  those  Avho  had  been  baptized  most  fully  in  the  fiery 
sea  of  suffering,  who  had  dared  most  and  suffered  most,  would 
be  restored  to  immortal  youth  and  angelic  perfection  in  the 
home  that  He  who  had  gone  before  had  promised  to  prepare 
for  them. 


CHAPTEE  II. 

DOCTRIXES    TAUGHT   BY   JESUS  CHRIST. 


God — Tinder  the  Old  and  New  Dispensations, 

At  the  Ibirtli  of  Christ,  as  we  have  endeayored  to  show, 
but  few  of  the  subjects  of  Augustus  entertained  any  just  ideas 
of  God,  or  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Superior  spiritual 
existences  were  recognized  and  worshipped,  but  they  were 
mere  properties  of  matter — the  animating  and  governing 
spirit  of  the  universe — tliat  principle  which  presides  over  the 
three  kingdoms  of  nature,  and  perpetuates  and  sustains  the 
natural  order  and  harmony  of  all  created  things.  A  majority 
had  no  conception  of  one  Infinite  and  Omnipotent  God,  to 
whom  all  are  accountable,  or  of  a  future  state  of  existence 
where  souls  exist  forever,  in  happiness  or  unhappiness,  "  ac- 
cording to  the  deeds  done  in  the  body."  Their  general  god 
was  Nature,  and  they  deified  men,  animals,  imaginary  per- 
sons, and  various  mundane  objects.  This  is  a  denial  of  a 
personal  God,  and,  as  Balmes  has  well  observed,  "  a  mate- 
rialism ending  in  atheism,  wild  idealism  and  fantastic  spirit- 
ualism resulting  in  pantheism." 

Equally  erroneous  ideas  were  generally  entertained  re- 
specting the  immortality  of  the  soul.  A  few  adopted  the 
opinion  of  Pythagoras,  that  souls  are  migratory,  occupying 
successively  various  animated  bodies,  and  losing  their  iden- 


GOD.  33 

tity  at  each  migration.  But  the  vast  majority  of  the  people 
of  Christ's  clay  believed  in  the  annihilation  of  both  soul  and 
body  at  death.  The  legitimate  results  of  these  pantheistic 
views  were  the  universal  prevalence  of  the  three  concupis- 
cences which,  according  to  the  inspired  apostle,  govern  the 
world,  viz.,  that  of  the  flesh,  of  the  eyes,  and  the  pride  of 
life.  As  there  Avas  nothing  to  hope  for  beyond  the  grave, 
the  sole  object  of  life  was  the  pursuit  of  worldly  pleasure.  If 
their  codes  contained  a  few  precepts  of  morality,  virtue,  and 
justice,  they  were  incorporated  for  the  protection  of  person 
and  property  against  wanton  and  lawless  violence,  and  not 
with  reference  to  any  abstract  sentiments  of  goodness  and 
right. 

God  became  incarnate  on  earth  to  change  these  atheisti- 
cal and  pantheistical  opinions,  and  the  moral  and  social  con- 
dition of  the  societies  founded  on  them.  He  came  to  declare 
Himself  to  them,  so  far  as  was  consistent  with  their  limited 
faculties ;  to  solicit  their  faith,  to  elevate  them  from  idolatry 
and  Jewish  superstition  to  Christianity,  and  to  instruct  them 
by  means  of  a  new  disj)ensation  respecting  God,  the  human 
soul,  and  their  duties  to  God  and  man.  We  shall  endeavor 
to  present  to  the  reader  the  fundamental  j^rinciples  which 
Christ  and  His  inspired  apostles  gave  to  mankind  as  a  divine 
heritage,  capable  of  rescuing  them  and  their  posterity  from 
the  spiritual  darkness  of  paganism  and  materialism,  and  of  be- 
stowing u2)on  them  the  beneficent  lights  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. In  this  chapter  we  shall  briefly  allude  to  some  of  the 
attributes  of  God,  and  to  the  objects  of  the  new  disj^ensation. 

Foremost  among  the  doctrines  taught  by  the  Saviour  was 
the  necessity  of  faith  in  one  Supreme  and  Personal  God.  A 
true  knowledge  of  the  Creator  was  absolutely  essential  to 
the  welfare  of  mankind.  It  was  necessary  tliat  He  should  be 
recognized,  not  only  as  a  Being  of  infinite  knowledge  and 
power,  but  of  infinite  love  and  justice;  that  He  should  be  ac- 
knowledged as  the  Sovereign  Ruler,  as  well  as  the  Creator 
of  the  universe:  and  the  highest  duty  of  men  is  to  have 
iaith  and  to  obey.     For  many  centuries  precedinoj  the  Chris- 


6^  CHRISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

tian  era,  the  human  mind  had  been  so  thoroughly  mate- 
rialized and  absorbed  in  mundane  affairs,  that  the  ideas  of  a 
spirit-world  and  an  eternal  God  were  practically  ignored. 
Men  adopted  the  untenable  and  absurd  doctrines  of  the  domi- 
nant schools  of  philosophy,  or  the  equally  false  ideas  of  the 
prevalent  Judaism,  and  with  these  f^alse  data  entered  upon 
the  grand  stage  of  life.  It  was  to  drag  the  world  from  the 
moral  and  social  desfradation  into  which  it  had  fallen,  throus-h 
the  influence  of  these  baneful  centres  and  nurseries  of  public 
sentiment,  that  the  Almighty  deemed  it  necessary  to  deliver 
a  nevv^  law,  through  the  medium  of  the  second  Person  of  tlie 
Holy  Trinity.  The  Infinite  Intelligence  mercifully  deigned 
to  manifest  Himself,  and  to  communicate  His  will  to  man- 
kind through  a  man  with  a  human  nature  like  themselves. 
That  no  misunderstanding  should  occur  respecting  His  divine 
laws  and  instructions.  He  became  incarnate,  and  declared  His 
will  in  person  and  with  organs  like  our  own,  thus  adapting 
Himself  to  the  limited  faculties  of  mortals. 

This  merciful  condescension  of  the  Supreme  Being  in 
manifesting  His  will  to  mankind  through  a  human  body, 
with  organs  and  faculties  like  our  own — with  sentiments, 
emotions,  passions,  affections,  and  with  keen  susceptibilities 
to  painful  and  pleasurable  sensations — has  been  seized  upon 
by  skeptics  as  an  argument  against  the  divinity  of  Jesus. 
Because  our  Saviour  was  born  in  the  poor  town  of  l^azareth, 
of  humble  parentage,  and  passed  thirty  years  of  His  life  as  a 
poor  laboring  carpenter,  the  priesthood  of  His  own  day  de- 
nied His  divinity,  and  denounced  Him  as  an  impostor.  From 
first  to  last  the  Jewish  priests  were  His  enemies ;  and  to-  Cai- 
phas  belongs  the  dreadful  sin  of  having  instigated  the  pro- 
ceedings and  persecutions  which  terminated  in  the  crucifix- 
ion. It  is  quite  evident  that  the  Roman  procurator,  Pontius 
Pilate,  did  not  desire  to  put  Jesus  to  death,  but  would  gladly 
have  spared  Him  had  it  not  been  for  the  violent  clamor  of 
the  Jews,  headed  by  their  high-priest  and  his  friends  in  au- 
thority. 

The  rationalists  of  the  world,  whether  Pharisee,  Sadducee, 


GOD.  35 

Mystic,  or  Pagan,  of  His  own  epoch,  or  Atheist,  Deist,  Ration- 
alist, or  other  Skejotic  of  more  modern  times,  liave  always 
regarded  Jesus  as  a  mere  man,  without  any  right  whatever 
to  the  appellation  of,  or  the  honor  pertaining  to  God.  From 
the  simple  fact  that  the  Infinite  chose  to  speak  to  Ilis  rebel- 
lious creatures  through  the  medium  of  a  body  like  their  own 
— although  His  words  were  confirmed  by  a  series  of  stupen- 
dous miracles — many  men,  in  all  ages,  have  doubted,  cavilled, 
and  finally  repudiated  every  thing  pertaining  to  Jesus  Avhich 
did  not  coincide  with  their  rationalistic  notions. 

Finite  man  can  form  no  just  concej^tion  of  the  Infinite. 
Like  a  leaf  of  the  tree,  a  blade  of  grass,  or  a  grain  of  sand 
on  the  sea-shore,  man  is  but  an  incident  in  the  grand  design 
of  the  universe.  The  creation  of  a  world,  having  relations 
with  innumerable  other  worlds  of  various  magnitudes  and 
endowments,  all  operating  in  perfect  harmony,  containing 
living  beings  possessed  of  almost  innumerable  grades  of  in- 
telligence and  physical  conformation,  and  filled  with  every 
conceivable  variety  of  objects  pertaining  to  the  animal,  vege- 
table, and  mineral  kingdoms,  and  all  subjected  to  fixed  and 
harmonious  laws  of  decomposition  and  reproduction,  Avas 
the  result  of  a  simple  fiat  of  the  Infinite  will.  To  the  Crea- 
tor these  works  of  His  hands  are  as  nothing  when  contrasted 
with  His  omnipotent  power.  Had  He  so  willed,  He  could 
just  as  easily  have  created  on  our  earth  a  race  of  beings 
vastly  superior  to  those  who  now  inhabit  it,  both  mentally 
and  physically.  Had  He  so  willed.  He  could  have  so  organ- 
ized the  special  senses  of  man  that  the  inhabitants  of  Euro23e 
could  behold  at  will  those  of  America  or  China ;  or  conver- 
sations could  be  carried  on  from  continent  to  continent,  and 
the  fragrant  spices  of  Araby  or  the  flowery  perfumes  of  the 
tropics  could  be  scented  by  the  phlegmatic  denizens  of  the 
polar  regions.  With  the  Almighty,  such  a  creation  would 
have  been  as  simj)le  as  that  of  the  lily  of  the  field,  or  the 
grain  of  sand  on  the  sea-shore,  and  to  His  Infinite  comprehen- 
sion all  would  be  equally  insignificant. 

The  only  ideas  which  man  can  form  of  God  are  such  as 


36  CHRISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

pertain  to  His  wonderful  works  on  earth,  to  the  instructions 
communicated  by  His  holy  prophets,  and  by  his  blessed  Son 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Thus  we  behold  and  admire  a  beautiful  landscape,  and 
our  souls  are  filled  with  pleasure  and  gratitude  to  the  Crea- 
tor and  Giver  of  so  much  beauty.  We  gaze  at  the  thunder, 
ing  and  foaming  cataract,  as  its  waters  madly  rush  over 
giant  rocks  and  precipices  in  search  of  rest  in  the  bosom  of 
the  mother  of  waters,  the  ocean  ;  and  we  involuntarily 
revert  with  devotion  to  the  Author  of  so  sublime  a  specta- 
cle. We  listen  with  ecstasy  to  the  beautiful  conceptions  of 
the  jDoet,  or  to  the  ravishing  tones  of  the  musician,  or  to  the 
thrilling  words  of  the  orator,  or  we  feast  our  eyes  on  works 
of  ancient  and  modern  art,  and  devoutly  thank  God  for  His 
gifts  of  heaven-born  genius  to  men — the  results  of  which 
not  only  elevate  and  refine,  but  afford  some  faint  ideas  of 
the  Infinite  Fountain  of  love,  wisdom,  truth,  and  good- 
ness. We  behold  with  awe  the  wonders  of  the  planetary 
system,  the  orderly  movements  of  countless  worlds,  with 
their  myriads  of  intelligent  creatures,  all  upheld  and  regu- 
lated in  the  immensity  of  space  by  the  finger  of  the  Al- 
mighty ;  and  we  bow  in  silence  and  dread  before  the  Majesty 
of  Heaven,  and  realize  how  infinitely  above  the  creature  is 
the  Creator. 

In  these  glorious  manifestations  of  creative  power,  man 
can  form  some  slight  conceptions  of  a  few  of  the  attributes 
of  the  Deity ;  and  from  these  ideas  and  a  due  appreciation 
of  them,  may  offer  up  acceptable  worship  and  adoration  ; 
but  his  limited  faculties  cannot  attain  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
Infinite  and  all-pervading  Fountain  of  power,  knowledge, 
and  wisdom. 

When  the  ancient  descendants  of  Abraham  worshipped 
the  living  God,  their  conceptions  of  Him  were  confined  to 
the  visible  wonders  of  creation,  to  the  inspired  words  of  His 
])rophets,  and  to  the  miracles  which  were  wrought  in  their 
l)ehalf.  They  worshipped  a  God  v*dio  had  created  a  world 
out  of  chaos,  which  was  to  remain  until  the  last  day  as  the 


GOD.  37 

dwellin ""-place  of  all  living  creatures,  and  tlio  receptacle  of 
nil  created  objects — who  organized  all  tilings  pertaining  to 
the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms  in  perfect  har- 
mony, for  generation,  reproduction,  groAvth,  decomposition — 
and  who,  in  creating  man  after  His  own  image,  with  reason, 
sentiment,  affection,  love,  and  with  curious  organs  like  tlie 
eye,  the  ear,  the  nose,  etc.,  through  which  the  soul  manifests 
itself,  displayed  to  man  some  idea  of  His  omnipotence.  In 
these  visible  marvels  of  the  universe  they  recognized  the 
design  and  the  power  of  the  Supreme  Architect ;  and  instead 
of  worshipping  these  manifestations  of  power  as  the  pagans 
had  done,  they  bowed  down  before  their  Creator  in  faith 
and  adoration. 

They  worshipped  a  God  who  through  their  prophets  had 
given  them  precepts  and  laws  abounding  in  wisdom,  love, 
justice,  and  divine  truth.  They  worshipped  a  God  who  had 
miraculously  protected  and  prospered  them  in  the  midst  of 
universal  famine  and  pestilence,  and  who  had  finally  brought 
them  miraculously  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  and  of  bondage, 
and  established  them  triumphantly  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 
They  worshipped  God  through  His  attributes  of  infinite 
knowledge,  power,  love,  tiiith,  justice,  mercy,  and  goodness. 
These  visible  works  and  these  attributes  of  the  Almighty 
came  within  the  scope  of  their  comprehension,  and  they 
adored  the  Author  of  these  wonderful  gifts  as  their  God. 

God  vouchsafed  to  manifest  His  divine  will  to  them 
through  His  holy  prophets.  From  them  w^ere  derived 
the  ten  commandments,  the  laws,  and  tlie  tables  of  stone. 
From  them  was  derived  a  knowledge  of  the  duties  of 
man  toward  his  God  and  his  fellow-men.  Through  them 
the  world  received  the  first  intimations  of  the  birth,  the  mis- 
sion, the  passion,  and  the  death  of  our  Redeemer.  By  them 
a  fcAVof  the  mysteries  of  godliness  Avere  made  known,  so  that 
men  w^ere  able  to  approach  somewhat  nearer  to  the  majes- 
ty of  the  Omnipotent.  But  all  of  these  conceptions  of  God 
were  from  a  human  stand-point,  having  reference  to  human 
wants,  human  reason,  human  appreciation,  and  consequently 


88  CIIKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

limited,  vague,  and  imperfect.  But  the  ancient  Hebrew 
could  appreciate  the  divine  attributes  of  power,  love,  wisdom, 
mercy,  truth,  and  goodness,  and  worship  the  Author  and 
Fountain  of  these  blessings.  When  he  saw  the  waters  of  the 
Red  Sea  separated  by  an  invisible  hand  to  aiford  a  safe  pas- 
sage for  the  persecuted  children  of  Israel,  while  Pharaoh  with 
his  pursuing  hosts  of  Egyptians  Avere  swallowed  up  in  their 
angry  and  retributive  waves,  he  appreciated  the  miracle  and 
adored  its  Author.  In  contemplating  the  creation  of  the 
world  from  chaos  and  utter  darkness,  when  the  Divine  Spirit 
moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters,  and  God  said,  "  Let  there 
be  light  and  there  was  light ; "  when  the  light  was  separated 
from  the  darkness,  and  day  and  night  were  created ;  when 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  were  j^lanted  in  the  firmament  of 
heaven  to  afford  lis^ht  and  heat  to  the  earth ;  when  the  waters 
were  fixed  in  their  everlasting  depths,  and  the  dry  lands  upon 
their  immovable  foundations;  when  all  organized  nature 
sprang  forth  in  perfect  order  and  harmony,  beautifying,  vivi- 
fying, and  gladdening  the  universe,  the  men  of  the  old  dis- 
pensation beheld  Avith  awe  and  wonder  these  marvellous 
works,  and  worshipped  the  omni23otent  Being  who  had  brought 
them  forth.  And  when  they  reflected  that  this  vast  world, 
with  its  revolving  planetary  system,  and  its  countless  array 
of  complex  organizations,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  were 
held  in  space  by  the  finger  of  the  Almighty,  to  fulfil  their 
destined  functions  in  accordance  with  His  original  design, 
they  were  overwhelmed  with  admiration,  and  in  perfect  faith 
adored  and  praised  the  Supreme  Architect. 

In  these  stupendous  manifestations  of  power,  man  beheld 
a  single  attribute  of  the  Deity,  and  appreciated  his  own  utter 
insignificance  when  contrasted  with  the  omnipotence  of 
God. 

The  love,  the  goodness,  and  the  mercy  of  God  declare 
themselves  naturally,  spontaneously,  and  continually  in  the 
wonderful  works  of  creation.  The  changing  seasons,  the 
light  and  warmth  of  the  sun,  rain  and  snow,  heat  and  cold, 
by  germinating  and  developing  the  fruitful  products  of  the 


GOD.  39 

earth,  furnish  men  and  animals  with  sustenance,  maintain 
life  and  health,  and  appeal  daily  and  hourly  to  the  infinite 
love  and  goodness  of  God.  The  beautiful  landscape,  the 
boundless  ocean,  the  rushing  cataract,  the  rugged  and  tower- 
ing mountain  pointing  in  mute  grandeur,  from  age  to  age, 
toward  the  infinite  source  of  its  creation,  are  all  delightful  in 
the  eyes  of  men,  and  proclaim  the  goodness  and  benevolence 
of  God  toward  Plis  creatures. 

In  worshipping  God,  therefore,  the  ancient  Hebrew  adored 
His  divine  attributes  of  power,  love,  goodness,  benevolence, 
and  mercy,  as  manifested  in  the  works  of  creation,  and  in  the 
blessino's  flowino;  from  them  to  mankind.  He  could  behold 
the  stui^endous  design  of  the  universe,  with  all  its  vast  ma- 
chinery working  in  perfect  order  and  harmony,  and  evoking 
at  each  moment  the  wonderful  phenomena  which  pertain  to 
the  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  kingdoms.  He  could  re- 
gard at  each  moment  of  his  existence  some  marvellous  mani- 
festation of  the  omnipotence  of  Jehovah,  and  humble  himself 
to  the  earth  in  wonder  and  admiration.  He  could  join  with 
his  countrymen,  David  and  Job,  in  praising  and  adoring 
the  God  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  when  they  declare  : 
*'  God  is  our  Lord,  and  of  grea.t  power ;  His  understanding  is 
injlnite.'^'^ .  .  .  .  "  Great  is  the  Lord,  and  greatly  to  be  praised  ; 
and  His  greatness  is  unsearchable.''''  *  "  Touching  the  Al- 
mighty, we  cannot  find  Him  out :  He  is  excellent  in  power, 

and  in  judgment,  and  in  plenty  of  justice AVith  God  is 

terrible  majesty."  f 

These  declarations  of  the  ancient  prophets  demonstrate 
the  fact  that  the  Almiglity  was  regarded  by  them  as  "  infinite 
in  His  understanding^''''  "  iinsearchahle  in  His  greatness,^'' 
''^terrible  in  majesty^''  and  '"''  past  finding  oiit^  In  their  acts 
of  worship  and  adoration,  therefore,  they  addressed  them- 
selves to  the  visible  attributes  of  God,  the  only  ideas  of 
Him  which  they  could  comprehend  and  appreciate.  Thus 
David,  in  rendering  praises  and  adoration  to  his  ?>[aker,  gives 
utterance  to  the  following  declarations  :  "  The  heavens  do- 

*  Psalm  cxlv.  f  Job  xxxvii.  22,  23. 


40  cnUISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

clare  the  glory  of  God ;  and  the  firmament  showeth  His  handy 
work.  Day  unto  day  nttereth  speech,  and  night  unto  night 
showeth  knowledge.  There  is  no  speech  nor  language,  where 
their  voice  is  not  heard.  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  con- 
verting the  soul :  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure,  making 
wise  the  simple.  The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing 
the  heart :  the  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  enlighten- 
ing the  eyes.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  enduring  for- 
ever :  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  alto- 
gether  I  will  speak  of  the  glorious  honor  of  Thy  ma- 
jesty, and  of  Thy  wondrous  works.  And  men  shall  speak  of 
the  might  of  Thy  terrible  acts,  and  I  will  declare  Thy  great- 
ness.    They  shall  abundantly  utter  the  memory  of  Thy  great 

goodness,  and  shall  sing  of  Thy  righteousness All  Thy 

Vv'orks  shall  praise  Thee,  O  Lord,  and  Thy  saints  shall  bless 
Thee.  They  shall  speak  of  the  glory  of  Thy  kingdom,  and 
talk  of  Thy  power."  * 

David  then  calls  upon  all  the  angels,  all  His  hosts,  the 
sun,  moon,  and  stars,  the  heaven  of  heavens,  and  the  wa- 
ters that  be  aboA^e  the  heavens,  upon  fire,  hail,  and  stormy 
winds,  the  mountains,  and  all  hills,  trees,  beasts,  fish,  fowls, 
upon  kings,  princes,  judges,  and  all  peoples,  to  praise  and 
adore  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  "  for,"  says  the  Psalmist,  "  Lie 
commanded  and  they  were  created." 

Such  were  the  conceptions  of  the  ancient  prophets  and 
of  the  children  of  Israel,  respecting  the  infinite  and  incom- 
prehensible God.  On  every  side  they  witnessed  and  ex- 
perienced His  poAver  and  goodness,  and  knew  that  they 
were  blessed  emanations  from  His  inexhaustible  foimtain. 
Conception,  birth,  life,  instinct,  reason,  sentiment,  afiTection, 
death,  the  marvellous  wonders  of  creation,  the  stuiDendous 
miracles  which  were  wrought  in  their  behalf,  the  prophecies, 
the  div?ne  commandments  and  laws,  were  all  impenetrable 
mysteries  to  them ;  but  they  knew  from  whence  they  came 
and  glorified  their  divine  Giver.     Occasionally  the  Almighty 

*  Psalm?  cxlv.  to  cxlviii. 


GOD.  41 

deigned  to  manifest  His  divine  will  to  His  chosen  people  in 
a  direct  and  and  more  palpable  manner.  Thus  when  God, 
in  the  midst  of  dark  clouds,  thundered  His  commandments 
and  laws  from  Mount  Sinai  to  the  people  of  Israel,  "  they 
trembled,  stood  afar  off,  and  said  unto  Moses,  Speak  thou 
with  us,  and  we  will  hear ;  but  let  not  God  speak  with  us, 
lest  we  die."  *  Again,  when  Moses  and  the  seventy  elders 
of  Israel  went  up  into  Mount  Sinai  to  receive  from  the  Lord 
the  "  tables  of  stone,  and  a  law,  and  a  commandment,  the 

glory  of  the  Lord  abode  upon  Mount  Sinai and  the 

sight  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord  Avas  like  devouring  fire  on  the 
top  of  the  mount  in  the  eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel."  f 
Again,  "  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  Moses  entered  into  the  tab- 
ernacle, the  cloudy  pillar  descended  and  stood  at  the  door  of 
the  tabernacle,  and  the  JLovd  talked  with  Moses.  And  the 
Lord  spake  unto  Moses  face  to  face,  as  a  man  speaketh  to 
his  friend."  \  In  this  instance  God  assumed  the  form  of  a 
''''  cloudy  pillar^''  and  thus  adapted  Himself  to  the  visual  or- 
gans and  to  the  comprehension  of  Moses. 

When  the  Israelites  were  about  to  depart  from  the  wil- 
derness of  Sinai,  Moses  desked  the  Lord  to  show  him  His 
glory,  and  manifest  Himself  to  him.  "  And  God  said  unto 
Moses,  Isl^  presence  shall  go  with  thee,  and  I  will  give  thee 

rest " And  when  Moses  said  to  the  Lord,  "  I  beseech 

Thee  show  me  Thy  glory,"  the  Lord  said,  "  I  will  make  all 
My  goodness  pass  before  thee,  and  I  will  proclaim  the  name 
of  the  Lord  before  thee  and  will  be  gracious  to  whom  I 
will  be  gracious,  and  will  show  mercy  on  whom  I  will  show 
mercy  ;  hut  thou  canst  not  see  My  face  ;  for  there  shall  no 
man  see  Me  and  live.''''  § 

From  these  extracts  it  is  evident  that  Jehovah  manifested 
Himself  to  Moses  and  his  people,  just  so  iar  as  their  himian 
faculties  were  capable  of  appreciating  Him  and  no  further. 
These  manifestations  were  sufficiently  palpable  and  suffi- 
ciently wonderful  to  establish  their  perfect  faith  and  confi- 

*  Exod.  XX.  19.  f  Exod.  xxiv.  IG,  17. 

X  Exod.  xxiii.  9-11.  §  Exod.  xxxiii.  14,  19,  20. 


42  '  CnKISTIANITY   AJS^D   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

dence  in  the  Almighty ;  and  they  regarded  Him  with  adora- 
tion for  Ilis  mercy  and  goodness,  with  awe  and  wonder  for 
His  power  and  majesty,  with  hope  and  confidence  for  His 
knowledge,  wisdom,  trnth,  and  forbearance,  and  with  grati- 
tnde  and  filial  afiection  for  His  special  interposition  in  their 
favor.  In  the  thunders  of  Sinai  they  heard  His  voice  ;  in 
the  "  cloudy  pillar  "  by  day,  and  the  "  fiery  pillar  "  by  night 
they  recognized  His  presence ;  in  the  miracles  which  were 
wrought  through  their  prophets,  they  ^Derceived  His  potent 
influence  ;  in  the  laws  and  commandments  written  upon  the 
tables  of  stone  they  read  His  divine  instructions.  These 
were  all  tangible  facts,  which  appealed  directly  to  their  in- 
telligence and  afibrded  them  positive  proofs  of  the  dii'ect 
interposition  of  an  overruling  Providence  in  their  afiairs. 
When  a  loud  and  mighty  voice  thundered  from  the  dark 
clouds  and  the  fires  of  Mount  Sinai  the  commandments  and 
the  laws,  they  knew  that  God  spoke,  and  that  these  com- 
mands were  holy,  and  must  be  obeyed.  And  v/heu  the 
"  cloudy  pillar"  went  before  them  by  day,  and  the  "fiery 
pillar  "  by  night,  their  human  reason  told  them  that  the^^res- 
ence  of  God  was  in  those  pillars,  to  lead  and  direct  them  in 
their  journeyings  through  the  wilderness  to  the  j)romised  land. 
And  when  the  laws  of  nature  were  suspended,  and  the  wa- 
ters of  the  Red  Sea  and  of  the  Jordan  were  separated  so  that 
the  Israelites  could  pass  over  on  dry  lanci,  they  knew  that  the 
hand  of  God  held  these  waters  from  their  natural  courses  in 
order  that  they  might  escape  from  their  pursuing  enemies. 
These  and  other  direct  interpositions  of  the  Almighty  in 
their  behalf,  inspired  them  with  perfect  faith,  and  with  some 
faint  ideas  of  His  infinitude. 

As  ages  rolled  on,  and  the  earth  became  more  populous, 
i;>3w  wants,  new  desires,-  and  new  vices  obtained;  so  that 
the  inventive  faculties  of  men  were  brouglit  into  requisition 
to  supply  these  new  demands.  Every  thing  in  science,  art, 
and  literature,  calculated  to  conduce  to  comfort,  luxur}^  or 
pleasure,  or  to  gratify  the  senses,  was  gradually  brought  to 
that  high  state  of  cultivation  which  gave  to  the  era  of  tlie 


GOD.  43 

Ciesars  the  appellation  of  "golden  age."  But  the  philoso- 
phies of  Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Epicurus,  and  the  dreadful 
superstitions  of  paganism,  presided  over  and  gave  direction 
to  this  material  culture.  As  the  serpent  in  the  midst  of  the 
flowers  and  the  golden  fruits  of  Eden  lured  our  first  parents 
to  sin  and  moral  and  physical  desolation,  so  did  the  dragon 
of  paganism  lure  the  classical  people  of  the  "  golden  era  " 
to  a  condition  of  abject  moral  degradation.  The  true  God 
was  almost  entirely  unknown.  There  were  no  just  concep- 
tions of  the  Infinite  Creator  of  the  universe;  but  nearly 
every  man  selected  and  worshipped  a  material  god  as  fancy 
or  caprice  dictated.  The  convivial  man  worshipped  Bacchus  ; 
the  licentious  man  adored  Venus;  the  cruel  man  chose  Mars, 
the  jovial  man  Monius;  the  Jew  addressed  his  devotions  to 
a  sectarian  God,  and  so  on,  according  to  natural  tastes  and 
inclinations.  Such  were  the  penates  of  the  Koman  citizen, 
and  tlie  religion  of  the  Jew  of  the  empire. 

In  the  midst  of  this  moral  desolation,  when  nearly  all  the 
world  had  forsaken  the  living  God  for  the  superstitious  and 
the  degrading  rites  of  paganism  and  idolatry,  the  Almighty 
deigned  to  confer  an  inestimable  boon  upon  mankind.  In 
His  infinite  mercy  and  condescension,  He  vouchsafed  to 
speak  directly  to  man  through  His  blessed  Son  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Having  sent  His  precious  offspring  in  hu- 
man form  and  with  human  endowments.  He  entered  into 
Him,  abode  in  Him,  and  spoke  through  Him  to  man,  face 
to  face,  and  declared  to  him  the  holy  truths  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation, and  his  duties  toward  his  God  and  his  fellow- 
men.  Instead  of  manifesting  Himself  in  the  midst  of  the 
fires  of  Sinai,  or  in  the  "pillar  of  cloud  by  day"  and  the 
"pillar  of  fire  by  night,"  as  He  had  done  of  old,  He  manifest- 
ed His  presence  in  the  God-Man  He  had  begotten,  and  thus 
uttered  His  holy  doctrines  and  His  divine  v/ill  to  a  perisli- 
ing  and  sinful  w^orld.  The  words  of  truth  and  godliness 
issued  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  ;  but  the  Almiglity  God  the 
Fatlier,  from  within  the  holy  tabernacle  which  He  had  be- 
gotten, sent  them  forth. 


44:  CnmSTTANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

N'o  man  can  see  the  face  of  the  Father  Ahuighty  and 
live.  No  finite  being  can  comprehend  the  Infinite.  The 
only  ideas  Aviiich  can  he  formed  of  the  Ahnighty,  are  those 
derived  fi'om  His  attributes,  from  His  miraculous  communi- 
cations, from  His  insjaired  prophets,  from  the  works  of  crea- 
tion, and  from  the  teachings  of  our  blessed  Saviour.  In 
presenting,  therefore,  to  mankind  His  only-begotten  Son  as 
their  Redeemer  and  Saviour,  and  through  Him  in  communi- 
cating to  them  His  heavenly  decrees  and  His  divine  will, 
our  heavenly  Father  demonstrated  Plis  boundless  love  and 
mercy  to  His  erring  creatures.  With  a  perfect  ajipreciation 
of  the  limited  capacities  of  men.  He  adapted  His  presence  to 
their  understandings,  and  through  the  medium  of  a  being- 
similar  to  themselves  He  addressed  them,  instructed  them, 
confirmed  their  faith,  and  enabled  them  to  prepare  for  time 
and  eternity.* 

Hov/,  then,  can  we  worship  our  heavenly  Father  better 
than  to  address  our  thoughts,  our  affections,  and  our  prayers 
to  that  blessed  Son  whom  He  has  given  to  men  as  their  di- 
vine Instructor  and  Redeemer,  and  through  whom  He  com- 
nnmicates  His  holy  Avill,  and  manifests  His  glorious  pres- 
ence? How  can  we  better  comprehend  the  mysteries  of 
Godliness  than  to  receive  them  from  that  divine  Being  whom 
tlie  Father  has  sent  us,  and  through  whom  He  has  vouch- 
safed to  speak  of  heavenly  things,  and  to  make  known  as 
much  of  Himself  as  is  consistent  with  human  faculties  and 
human  reason  ?  There  is  but  one  God  in  essence  and  spir- 
it— the  infinite  and  incomprehensible  fountain  of  knowl- 
edge, love,  and  goodness ;  but  there  are  three  Persons, 
or  subdivisions,  or  manifestations  of  this  one  God  pre- 
sented to  the  children  of  earth,  in  order  that  they  may 
recognize  and  appreciate,  according  to  their  capacities. 
His  divine  majesty  and  will.  When  Peter  was  asked 
by  the  Sadducees  "by  what  power  or  by  what  name  "lie 
had  healed  the  lame  man,  Peter  re2)lied :  "  By  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified.  .  .  .  Neither  is 

*  See  Hebrews  i.  1-13. 


GOD.  45 

there  salvation  in  any  other ;  for  there  is  no  other  name 
under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved."*  If,  therefore,  we  would  worship  God  witli  the 
liighest  possible  degree  of  intelligence  and  appreciation,  we 
nuist  ajiproacli  Ilim  through  that  portion,  or  person,  of  ITis 
Godhead  whicli  He  has  especially  designed  and  presented  to 
mankind,  because  "  in  Him  dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  God- 
head bodily."  All  of  the  laws,  commandments,  statutes,  doc- 
trines, duties,  mysteries,  and  obligations,  which  the  Father 
has  communicated  to  men  through  His  dearly-beloved  Son, 
are  j^ositive  and  unequivocal ;  and  it  is  the  imj^erative  duty 
of  the  creature  to  bow  down  in  humble  adoration  and  obey. 
In  rendering  worship  and  adoration  to  the  Infinite  Father, 
the  conceptions  of  mortals  must  necessarily  be  vague,  indefi- 
nite, and  sometimes  absurd ;  but  when  they  w^orship  God 
through  His  Son,  their  conceptions  of  Him  are  rational  and 
definite,  although  limited,  and  their  duties  as  Christians  are 
clearly  defined. 

The  ways  of  God  are  not  our  ways  ;  because  His  "under- 
standing is  infinite,"  His  "  greatness  unsearchable,"  His 
"  majesty  terrible,"  and  Himself  "  i:>ast  finding  out ; "  but  in 
the  person  of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,  He  has  adapted  Himself 
to  our  ways  and  our  understandings,  and  thus  enabled  us  to 
approach  Him  directly  and  intelligently.  From  this  point 
of  view,  is  it  not  evident  that,  in  worshipping  Christ,  we  ne- 
cessarily worship  the  Father  Almighty,  whose  Holy  Spirit 
animates  Him,  directs  Him,  and  speats  through  Him  ?  In 
v/orshipping  Christ,  do  we  not  actually  worship  the  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost — that  peculiar  manifestation  of  the  one 
God  which  was  especially  designed  for  the  instruction  and 
salvation  of  men  ?  When  w^e  address  our  prayers  to  Christ, 
we  appeal  directly  to  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  who 
are  all  present  in  the  body  of  our  Saviour  as  the  one  and 
true  Lord  God  Almighty.  Jehovah  was  i:)resent  in  the  in- 
carnate form  of  Jesus,  as  He  was  present  in  the  "cloudy  pil- 
lar by  day  "  and  the  "fiery  pillar  by  night,"  when  He  led 

*  Acts  iv.  10-12. 


46  CIIIilSTlANITY   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  children  of  Israel  in  their  journeyings;  and  He  spoke  from 
the  lips  of  Jesus,  as  He  sjDoke  from  the  fires  of  Sinai,  that 
men  might  believe,  obey,  and  be  saved. 

It  is  manifest,  therefore,  that  Jesus  Christ  shonld  be  the 
special  and  chief  object  of  human  worship.  The  Infinite 
Creator,  who  does  not  dwell  in  temples  made  with  hands, 
"whose  throne  is  heaven,  and  whose  footstool  is  earth," 
cannot  be  seen  or  understood  by  mortals,  because  "  no  man 
can  see  His  face  and  live,"  and  He  is  "  past  finding  out ; " 
but  He  has  presented  Himself  to  His  finite  creatures  in  a 
manner  which  they  can  comprv^hend,  with  commandments 
and  ordinances  which  they  can  appreciate,  and  in  the  palpa- 
ble and  tangible  form  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
To  Him,  then,  should  we  cling  as  our  Redeemer,  our  Saviour, 
our  God.  To  Him  should  we  continually  address  our  prayers 
for  mercy,  pardon,  protection,  and  guidance.  To  Him  should 
Vie  look  for  our  ideas  and  conceptions  of  God  ;  and  all  of  His 
words,  teachings,  and  commandments  should  be  treasured  up 
and  obeyed  as  the  true  and  actual  utterances  of  Jehovah.  If 
Vv^e  incline  to  be  skeptical,  and  presumptuously  attempt  to  pry 
into  the  impenetrable  mysteries  of  the  Infinite,  let  us  reflect 
that  we  are  weak  creatures  of  an  Omnipotent  Creator,  and 
that,  in  deigning  to  become  incarnate  on  earth  for  our  in- 
struction, our  guidance,  and  our  salvation.  He  has  displayed 
His  boundless  mercy  and  goodness.  "  Canst  thou  by  search- 
ing find  out  God  ?  Canst  thou  find  out  the  Almighty  unto 
perfection  ?  It  is  as  high  as  heaven  ;  what  canst  thou  do  ? 
deeper  than  hell ;  what  canst  thou  know  ?  The  measure 
thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader  than  the  sea."  * 
Instead  of  occasional  manifestations  of  His  j^resence,  as  in  old- 
en times,  let  us  ever  remember  with  profound  gratitude,  that 
He  came  among  us  in  a  body  like  our  own,  taught  us  His  di- 
vine doctrines,  sympathized  with  us,  established  His  Cluirch 
upon  an  immutable  and  everlasting  foundation,  suffered  and 
died  for  us,  and  finally  left  this  representative  of  His  infinitude 
as  an  object  of  adoration  and  worship,  and  as  "the  only  name 

*  Job  xi.  '7-9. 


GOD.  47 

under  hcaveu  given  amono-  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved" 
— our  Mediator,  our  Redeemer,  our  Saviour,  our  God,  Jesus 
Clirist.  Let  us  never  forget  that  Christ  alone  stands  between 
the  iuliuite  Fountain  of  light  and  love  and  men,  and  that  the 
Divine  rays  pervade  liim  and  contiinially  pass  off  from  Him 
in  the  form  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  illuminate  the  world.  Let 
us  never  forget  the  divine  declaration  that,  through  the 
name  of  Jesus  alone,  can  salvation  be  attained.  While  we 
should  daily  humble  ourselves  in  devotion,  awe,  and  prayer, 
before  the  infinite  and  incomprehensible  God,  "  Our  Father 
Avho  art  in  heaven,"  whose  "  majesty  is  terrible,"  whose 
"understanding  is  infinite,"  whose  "greatness  is  unsearch- 
able," and  whose  ways  are  "  past  finding  out,"  let  us  pray 
always  to  that  blessed  Son  whom  He  has  sent  to  us,  and 
wdiose  commandments  and  doctrines  must  be  our  perpetual 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  As  God  spoke  through  the  mouths 
of  Moses  and  the  prophets  to  the  children  of  Israel,  giving 
them  laws  and  commandments  for  their  rule  of  faith  and 
guidance,  so  did  God  speak  through  Christ  to  the  men  of 
the  new  dispensation,  declaring  to  them  the  laws  and  com- 
mandments for  their  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Whatever, 
therefore,  Christ  has  declared  in  the  New  Testament,  or  to 
the  apostles  and  their  successors,  must  be  received  with  ab- 
solute and  unquestioning  faith  as  the  word  of  God,  however 
repugnant  such  declarations  may  be  to  our  preconceived  no- 
tions or  to  our  human  reason.  He  has  written  down  and 
transmitted  to  us  His  commandments,  statutes,  and  ordi- 
nances ;  He  has  declared  to  us  all  of  those  things  which  He 
has  received  from  the  Father  in  heaven ;  He  came  down  to 
us  as  our  instructor,  our  exemplar,  our  mediator,  our  redeem- 
er, and  our  God — through  whom,  and  by  whose  name  alone 
men  must  be  saved.  "  All  things  are  delivered  unto  Me  of 
My  Father;  and  no  man  knoweth  the  Son,  but  the  Father; 
neither  knoweth  any  man  the  Father,  save  the  Son,  and  he 
to  whomsoever  the  Son  will  reveal  Him.'''  * 

That  the  Divine  Sj^irit  which  actuated  our  Saviour,  and 

*  Matt.  xi.  27. 


48  CHKISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

wbich  tauglit  and  spoke  througli  Him,  was  the  veritable 
Spirit  of  Jehovah — the  Great  I  Am — the  Infinite  and  Eternal 
Creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  is  quite  evident  from  the  entire 
tenor  of  the  Scriptures.  This  enibodiment  and  impersonation 
of  the  Almighty  in  Christ,  was  undoubtedly  the  best  mode 
which  could  be  devised  by  the  Infinite  Intelligence  to  com- 
municate with  mortals.  This  assumption  of  flesh  by  the 
Great  Spirit  was  an  act  of  transcendent  mercy  and  conde- 
scension, as  it  enabled  men  to  talk  face  to  face  with  this  per- 
sonification of  God  on  earth.  This  Person  of  the  Godhead 
was  adapted  to  the  understandings  of  men,  and  they  were 
thus  allowed  to  receive  the  divine  commandments  directly 
through  that  dearly  beloved  Son  whom  He  had  sent  espe- 
cially to  them.,  whose  sacred  body  Pie  inhabited,  and  through 
whose  lips  He  uttered  His  will  to  men.  The  following  pas- 
sages of  the  IS^ew  Testament  corroborate  this  view  of  the 
subject :  "Philip  saith  unto  Him  (Jesus),  Lord,  show  us  the 
Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us.  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Have  I 
been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
Me, Philip?  he  that  hath  seen  Me,  hath  seen  the  Father;  and 
how  sayest  thou  then.  Show  us  the  Father  ?  Believest  thou 
not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  ?  the  words 
that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  Myself:  but  the 
Father,  that  dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth  the  works.  Believe 
Me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me."  *  Again : 
"  For  the  Father  loveth  you,  because  ye  have  loved  Me,  and 
have  believed  that  I  came  out  from  God.  I  came  forth  from 
the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the  Avorld."  Again,  "  I  leave  the 
world,  and  go  to  the  Father."  f  Again,  "  I  have  glorified  Thee 
on  earth ;  I  have  finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest  Me  to 
do.  And  now,  O  Father,  glorify  Thou  Me  with  Thine  ov/n 
Self,  with  the  glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world 
was."  J;  Again  :  "  Jesus  cried,  and  said,  He  that  believeth  on 
Me,  believeth  not  on  Me,  but  on  Him  that  sent  Me.  And 
he  that  seeth  Me,  seeth  Him  that  sent  Me."  8     Ag-ain :  "  In 

*  John  xiv.  9-11.  f  John  xvi.  27,  28. 

\  John  xvii.  4,  5.  §  John  xii.  44. 


GOD.  49 

the  beginning  was  the  Word  (Christ),  and  the  Word  (Christ) 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  (Christ)  was  God.  The  same 
(Christ)  was  in  the  beginning  with  God.  All  things  were 
made  by  Him ;   and  witliout  Him  was  not  any  thing  made 

that  was  made He  was  in  the  world,  and  the  world 

was  made  by  Him,  and  the  world  knew  Him  not And 

the  Word  (Christ)  was  made  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  "  I 
and  my  Father  are  one."  * 

From  these  extracts  it  is  evident  that  Christ  is  the  actual 
Father  Almighty,  and  that  He  has  presented  us  with  this 
second  personification  of  Himself  in  order  that  we  might 
clearly  understand  those  laws,  duties,  and  obligations,  which 
are  necessary  for  our  temporal  and  eternal  welfare,  and  that 
we  might  worship  Him  in  an  appreciable  and  tangible  form. 

In  view  of  the  omnipotence  of  God,  and  of  His  identity 
with  our  Redeemer,  is  it  not  the  first  duty  of  man  to  believe 
with  unquestioning  and  absolute  faith  in  all  of  the  teachings 
and  acts  of  Christ  when  on  earth  ?  His  entire  career  was 
characterized  by  miraculous  deeds  for  the  purpose  of  convert- 
ing the  world  from  paganism  to  Christianity,  and  of  confirm- 
ing the  faith  of  the  discijDles.  He  demanded  then  as  He 
demands  now,  as  a  condition  to  salvation,  simple  and  implicit 
faith  in  Him  and  His  works,  however  opposed  they  may  be 
to  the  philosophies  or  the  logic  of  man.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, we  incline  to  be  skeptical,  or  to  pry  into  the  mysteries 
which  God  has  presented  to  us  through  his  Son,  let  us  call 
to  mind  the  fact  that  God's  ways  are  not  our  ways,  that 
the  finite  creature  cannot  comprehend  the  Infinite  Creator, 
and  that  it  is  wisdom  for  man  to  believe  and  obey. 

Among  the  first  objects  to  be  accomplished  by  our  Saviour 
in  converting  the  people  of  the  Roman  empire  to  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  was  the  overthrow  of  their  pantheistic  ideas, 
and  the  substitution  of  a  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  of 
the  immortality  of  the  soul.  His  declarations  upon  these 
subjects  were  clear  and  explicit,  and  in  direct  antagonism  to 
tlie  opinions  of  the  entire  pagan  and  perverted  Jewish  v.^orld. 

*  John  i.  1-20,  and  John  x.  30. 
3 


60  CHEISTIANITT   AND   IIS    COInTFLICTS. 

On  this  account  He  continually  inculcated  tlie  necessity  of 
faith  in  all  His  teachings  as  another  fundamental  j^rinciple 
of  Christianity.  He  contended  not  only  against  all  of  the 
philosophies  and  moral  and  social  codes  of  His  epoch,  but 
against  the  passions,  prejudices,  and  habits  of  the  entire 
jDCople.  But  notwithstanding  these  formidable  obstacles 
to  the  introduction  of  the  truths  of  the  new  dispensation, 
He  made  no  reservations,  no  compromises,  but  required  of  all 
His  disciples  absolute  and  unreserved /az^A  in  Him,  His  doc- 
trines, and  His  works,  however  opposed  they  might  be  to 
natural  laAVS,  human  philosophies,  or  human  reason.  In  our 
next  chapter  we  shall  make  a  brief  allusion  to  this  Christian 
doctrine. 


CIIAPTEE   III. 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


FaitJi. 


Amois'G  llie  dominant  traits  of  the  Latin  subjects  of  Tibe- 
rius were,  pride  of  nationality,  of  their  material  culture  and 
prosperity,  of  their  skill  in  arms,  of  their  numerous  and  poYv^- 
erful  military  legions,  and  of  their  vast  conquests.  The  ruling 
classes  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  special  political  and  social 
privileges,  riches,  and  most  of  those  accessories  which  contrib- 
ute to  the  gratification  of  pride,  ambition,  and  sensual  pleas- 
ure ;  while  the  common  people  were  continually  amused,  and 
at  the  same  time  perverted  and  debased,  by  the  exciting 
spectacles  of  the  amphitheatre  and  the  arena,  or  in  witness- 
ing or  participating  in  the  obscene  revels  of  pagan  worship. 
Philosophy,  law,  public  sentiment,  and  social  custom  all 
sanctioned  the  grossest  licentiousness,  and  a  cultivation  of 
the  most  brutal  passions  of  the  human  heart.  Elevated  sen- 
timents of  morality,  virtue,  benevolence,  brotherly  love,  and 
of  the  true  dignity  and  destiny  of  man  were  scoffed  at  and 
practically  ignored.  Their  rule  of  faith  was  tlie  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  and  the  chief  object  of  their  lives  was  self-gratifica- 
tion. They  had  no  just  ideas  respecting  a  future  spiritual 
existence,  or  of  their  responsibilities  and  duties  with  regard 
to  this  spiritual  state.  The  entire  vvorld  had  pinned  its  fiith 
upon  absurd   and  untenable  philosophies,  v/hich  had  origi- 


52  CKEISTIANITY   AND   ns    CONFLICTS. 

natecl  in  primitive  and  semi-barbarous  societies,  and  wbicli 
were  the  oiispring  of  their  natural  wants  and  requirements. 

During  the  iirst  fourteen  years  of  the  life  of  Christ,  while 
Octavius  Augustus  lived,  no  serious  apprehensions  were  en- 
tertained respecting  the  nature  or  the  extension  of  His  doc- 
trines. Octavius  had  been  presented  to  the  joeople  by  the 
senate,  not  only  with  the  title  of  Augustus,  but  with  the  ac- 
tual sovereignty  and  power  of  an  emperor.  Throughout  the 
ciA'iiized  world  he  exercised  supreme  sway,  making  and  de- 
posing' kin2:s,  and  dictatino;  terms  and  conditions  to  the 
nations  of  the  world.  Human  beings  were  regarded  and 
used  as  mere  instruments  to  subserve  the  glory  of  the  state 
and  the  pride  and  gratification  of  the  emperor  and  his  favor- 
ites. Individual  genius  and  enterprise  were  merged  in  the 
glory  of  the  empire.  Philosophers,  authors,  orators,  poets, 
artists,  and  men  of  genius  in  all  departments  of  art  and 
science  were  patronized  and  sustained,  but  only  as  chattels 
and  glory-producing  agents.  Maxims  of  philosophy  were 
toleratecl,  so  long  as  they  did  not  clash  with  the  pleasures  of 
the  people,  or  the  stability  and  glory  of  the  emj^ire.  The 
philosoj^hers  of  the  Augustan  age  were  at  liberty  to  an- 
nounce broad  general  principles  of  philosophy,  and  vague. 
and  intangible  precepts  of  morality  and  virtue,  but  they  Avere 
forbidden  to  invade  those  regions  Avhich  had  been  marked  out 
by  Epicurus  as  sacred  to  the  appetites,  the  passions,  and  tlie 
worldly  desires  of  men. 

Mechanics,  artisans,  and  agriculturists  were  required  to 
to  i^ly  their  energies  to  pander  to  the  sensual  tastes  and 
the  luxury  of  their  patrician  rulers.  The  persons,  liberties, 
and  lives  of  females  and  slaACS  were  rendered  subservient 
to  the  tyrannical  caprices  and  the  base  passions  of  their 
wealthy  guardians  and  owners. 

Such  was  the  general  condition  of  the  Roman  empire 
v.hen  Tiberius  assumed  the  imperial  purple.  He  was  addicted 
to  every  vice  which  a  malignant  nature  and  an  unbounded 
indulgence  in  sensual  pleasures  could  engender.  Unendowed 
with   a   single   virtue,  accustomed   fi'om   childhood   to   the 


FAITH.  53 

prompt  indulgence  of  every  caprice  or  passion,  surrounded 
by  obsequious  sycophants  and  attendants,  wlio  anticipated 
and  obeyed  every  wish,  liis  mind  and  his  natural  affections 
became  perverted,  and  lie  lived  and  reigned  as  if  tlie  Avorld 
had  been  created  solely  for  his  personal  benefit  and  pleasure. 

In  his  gorgeous  island-palace,  fanned  by  the  gentle  breezes 
of  the  Mediterranean,  and  surrounded  by  more  than  oriental 
splendors  and  luxuries,  he  dispensed,  not  justice  and  happi- 
ness to  his  subjects,  but  wrongs,  cruelties,  and  oppressions 
of  all  kinds.  Distant  nations  trembled  in  constant  fear  lest 
some  imperial  blow  should  strike  them,  and  scatter  ruin  and 
disaster  throughout  their  lands. 

If  the  followers  of  Christ  were  not  exterminated  by  this 
lumian  oppressor,  it  was  because  he  was  too  much  absorbed 
in  revels  and  pleasures  to  appreciate  their  steady  progress 
and  influence.  If  the  teachings  of  Christ  in  Judea  did  not 
more  seriously  arouse  his  suspicions,  and  alarm  him  for  the 
fate  of  paganism  and  her  cherished  abominations,  it  was  be- 
cause he  believed  himself  omnipotent,  not  only  over  his  em- 
pire, but  over  the  minds  and  bodies  of  his  subjects.  When 
Christ  announced  the  true  God,  the  nature  of  the  soul,  the 
necessity  of  faith,  repentance,  reformation,  baptism,  and 
obedience  to  His  commandments,  under  penalty  of  eternal 
condemnation,  Tiberius  regarded  these  declarations  as  the 
liarmlcss  vaporings  of  a  visionary  enthusiast — a  humble 
and  ignoj'ant  mechanic  of  the  poor  province  of  Galilee — and 
revelled  on  in  fancied  security.  If  he  allowed  his  subordi- 
nates to  persecute,  torture,  and  even  kill  those  who  professed 
Christianity,  it  was  not  from  any  apprehensions  respecting 
the  extension  and  influence  of  their  doctrines,  but  from  sim- 
ple wantonness  and  inherent  cruelty.  So  long  as  every  foi'm 
of  vice  had  full  sway  above  ground,  he  cared  not  what  new 
precepts  might  be  inculcated,  or  new  observances  practised 
in  the  catacombs  and  caves  below,  or  in  the  mountains  and 
hamlets  of  Galilee. 

It  was  at  this  dark  period,  and  in  the  midst  of  these 
scenes  of  universal  skepticism  and  wickedness,  that  St.  Paul 


64  CnRISTlANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

made  the  declaration,  that  the  worhl  is  governed  by  three 
great  concupiscences — that  of  the  flesh,  that  of  the  eyes,  and 
the  pride  of  life.  There  have  been  but  few  epochs  in  the 
world's  history  to  which  this  observation  applies  with  greater 
force  thau  to  the  one  nnder  consideration.  It  was  to  con- 
tend against  these  natural  desires  and  passions  of  men,  to 
dissipate  superstition  and  error,  and  to  disseminate  the  be- 
nelicent  truths  of  Christianity,  like  godliness,  faith,  hope,  and 
charity,  that  God  became  incarnate  in  Christ. 

Throughout  His  entire  career  on  earth,  our  Saviour  con- 
tinually inculcated  the  duty  and  necessity  of  faith  in  Him- 
self and  His  doctrines.  He  required  His  folloAvers  to  throw 
aside  all  of  their  preconceived  notions,  all  traditions,  and  all 
ideas  founded  upon  their  own  human  intelligence,  and  to  be- 
lieve unreservedly  in  every  thing  He  might  teach  them.  He 
commanded  them  to  discard  human  philosophy,  to  become  like 
little  children,  and  to  confide  in  Him  as  the  Son  of  God,  and 
in  His  teachings  and  works  as  those  of  the  Almighty. 

His  entire  mission  on  earth  Avas  replete  with  miracles, 
and  with  sayings  and  doings  contrary  to  the  received  opin- 
ions of  mankind;  yet  He  demanded  implicit  and  uncondi- 
tional faith  in  tliem  under  penalty  of  condemnation.  How- 
ever repugnant  to  the  understandings  of  men  His  assertions 
might  be,  nothing  but  entire  faith  in  them  could  secure  sal- 
vation. In  the  estimation  of  Jesus,  simple  and  confiding 
faith^  like  that  of  little  children,  was  the  most  exalted  trib- 
ute which  His  disciples  could  pay  to  Him. 

His  divine  conception  and  birth  were  miracles  ;  yet  faith 
in  them  is  essential  to  salvation.  His  instantaneous  cures 
of  the  blind,  dumb,  and  lame,  and  His  raising  of  the  dead  to 
life,  were  contrary  to  human  reason ;  yet  were  His  followers 
required  to  have  faith  in  them.  His  conversion  of  water 
into  wine  at  the  marriage  of  Cana  of  Galilee,  and  His  feed- 
ing vast  multitudes  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes,  were 
miraculous  performances ;  yet  no  true  Christian  presumes  to 
doubt  them.  His  conversion  of  bread  and  wine  into  His 
body  and  blood  at  the  last  supper  was  equally  miraculous; 


FAITH.  55 

yet  Christians  are  commanded  to  believe  and  to  practise  this 
sacrifice  in  commemoration  of  Ilim.  His  resurrection  from 
death,  and  His  glorious  ascension  to  heaven,  were  supernat- 
ural ;  yet  entire  faith  in  them  is  essential  to  the  true  Chris- 
tian. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  entire  Christian  world  has 
fiith  in  all  of  these  supernatural  events  except  tliat  which 
occurred  at  the  Lord's  supper  !  Although  the  miracle  there 
performed,  and  which  Christ  positively  declared  should  con- 
tinue to  he  performed  as  often  as  His  followers  "  should  do 
this  same  thhig  in  remembrance  of  Him,"  was  no  more 
strange  or  difficult  than  the  others  enumerated,  yet  a  large 
number  of  protesters  have  presumed  to  deny  that  our  Sav- 
iour actually  performed  the  conversion  which  He  professed 
and  declared  that  He  performed.  These  Gentile  protestants 
reason  as  did  the  Jewish  protestants  of  Christ's  day,  who 
asked  of  our  Saviour,  '"''  IIoio  can  this  man  give  usof  Hisj^c^A 
to  eat  ?  "  And  we  know  of  no  better  response  than  that  of 
Jesus  to  the  unbelieving  Jews,  viz. :  "  I  am  the  living  bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven ;  if  any  man  eat  of  this 
bread,  he  shall  live  forever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is 
My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the  world.  Your 
fithers  did  eat  manna,  and  are  dead ;  but  whosoever  eats  of 
the  living  bread  shall  never  die."  ^'  Yerily,  verily  I  say  un- 
to you,  except  ye  eat  ihc  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  drink 
His  bloody  ye  have  no  life  in  you.  .  .  .  He  that  eateth  My  flesh, 
and  drinketh  My  blood,  dwelleth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him."  * 

St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria,  in  commenting  upon  this  query 
of  the  protesting  Jews,  makes  the  following  observations : 
"But  if,  O  Jew,  thou  persistest  in  uttering  this  hoic,  I  also, 
imitating  this  thine  ignorance,  will  say  to  thee,  '  IIoio  didst 
tliou  go  out  of  Egypt?  Tell  me  hoio  the  rod  of  Moses  was 
turned  into  a  serpent,  how  was  his  hand  made  leprous,  and 
again  restored,  as  it  is  Aviitten  ?  IIoio  was  water  changed 
into  the  nature  of  blood  ?  How  didst  thou  pass  through  the 
midst  of  the  sea,  as  through  a  dry  plain?     How  was  the  bit- 

*  John  vi.  50-57. 


66  CIIEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ter  water  of  Mamli  clianged  into  sweet  by  a  j^iece  of  wood  ? 
Hoio  was  water  given  thee  from  the  bosom  of  the  rocks  ? 
How  was  the  maima  brought  down  from  heaven  for  thee  ? 
How  did  the  Jordan  stand  still  in  its  bed  ?  or  liow^  by  a 
mere  shout,  did  the  impregnable  wall  of  Jericho  fall  ?  And 
wilt  thou  not  cease  to  utter  that  how  f  '  " 

ISTo  man  can  be  a  real  Christian  who  rejects  a  single  as- 
sertion or  injunction  of  Jesus  Christ.  No  perversion  of  lan- 
guage, no  false  rendering  of  Scripture,  no  protesting  sophis- 
try, can  alter  the  immutable  decrees  of  the  Almighty,  or  ob- 
viate the  necessity  of  faith  in  these  decrees,  and  the  duty  of 
a  scrupulous  performance  of  them. 

Faith  is  the  foundation-stone  of  Christianity — tlie  first 
and  indispensable  element  of  religion — the  alpha  and  omega 
of  the  Christian.  He  who  possesses  it  in  all  its  purity  and 
comprehensiveness,  will  not  long  neglect  the  practical  duties 
which  naturally  flow  from  it.  Some  have  supposed  that  an 
unquestioning  belief  in  the  mysteries  of  godliness  implies  a 
lack  of  intellectual  power,  and  have  accordingly  subjected 
these  mysteries  to  the  critical  test  of  human  philosophy  and 
human  reason,  and  from  such  deductions  have  formed  their 
religious  opinions.  But  how  iDresumptuous  in  man  to  pre- 
sume to  measure  the  infinite  intelligence  and  power  of  the 
Almighty  with  his  own  ikiite  and  grovelling  comprehension  ! 
What  madness  to  weigh  the  immutable  decrees  of  the  Crea- 
tor in  the  puny  scales  of  inductive  philosophy  !  What  folly 
to  reason,  Avhen  God  asserts  ! 

In  the  days  of  Christ  and  tlie  apostles,  the  results  of  faith 
were  everywhere  apparent  in  the  prompt  bestowal  of  boun- 
teous rewards.  When  the  woman  with  an  issue  of  blood 
for  twelve  years,  touched  the  hem  of  Jesus'  garment,  she 
was  instantly  cured  in  consequence  of  her  faith.  And  when 
the  blind,  the  dumb,  the  leprous,  and  the  palsied  came  to 
Christ  with  faith  in  Him  and  His  i)Ower,  they  were  at  once 
made  whole.  And  even  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  who  had 
faith  that  Jesus  could  restore  his  dead  daughter  to  life  by' 


FAiTir.  57 

simply  willing  it  to  be  done,  Avas  rewarded  by  the  consum- 
mation of  this  great  miracle. 

When  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  were  filled  with  unbelief, 
and  even  the  disciples  were  wavering  in  their  faith,  Jesus 
asked  them,  saying  :  "  Whom  do  men  say  tliat  I,  the  Son  of 
man  am  ?  And  they  said,  Some  say  that  Thou  art  John 
the  Baptist ;  some,  Elias  ;  and  others  Jeremias,  or  one  of  the 
prophets.  He  said  unto  them,  But  whom  say  ye  that  I  am  ? 
And  Simon  Peter  answered  and  said,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  livino;  God.  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
him.  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar-jona ;  for  flesh  and  blood 
hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  My  Fatlicr  which  is  in 
heaven.  And  I  say  also  unto  thee.  That  thou  art  Peter ; 
and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  Church  ;  and  the  gates 
of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it.  And  I  will  give  unto 
thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  and  whatsoever 
thou  shalt  bind  on  earth  shall  be  bound  in  heaven ;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in 
heaven."  * 

What  a  priceless  reward  of  faith  is  here  presented  ! 
Peter,  in  the  midst  of  doubting  brethren,  and  assailed  by  the 
scoffs  and  deadly  persecutions  of  myriads  of  Jewish  and  pa- 
gan enemies,  had  full  faith  that  Clirist  was  the  Son  of  the 
living  God  ;  and  for  this  unconditional  fiith  and  confidence, 
was  made  the  head  and  rock  of  Christ's  Church,  and  was 
presented  with  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Among 
all  of  the  apostles,  no  one  had  such  absolute  and  confiding 
faith  as  Simon  Peter ;  and  he  was  therefore  selected  to  pre- 
side over  them  and  His  Church  as  His  nearest  and  most  hon- 
ored representative. 

When  Peter  called  the  attention  of  Jesus  to  the  fifj-tree 
Avhich  had  been  cursed  and  withered,  Jesus  answered,  "  Have 
faith  in  God.  For  verily  I  say  unto  you,  that  whosoever 
shall  say  unto  this  mountain,  Be  thou  removed,  and  be  thou 
cast  into  the  sea ;  and  shall  not  doubt  in  his  heart,  but  shall 
belicA^e  that  those  things  which  he  saitli  shall  come  to  pass ; 

*  Matt.  xvi.  1 1-20. 
3* 


58  CnETSTIANlTT    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

he  shall  have  whatsoever  he  saith.  Therefore  T  say  nnto 
you,  what  things  soever  ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe 
that  ye  receive  them,  and  ye  shall  have  them."  * 

Again,  wlien  some  of  the  disciples  informed  Thomas  that 
they  had  seen  Jesus  after  His  resurrection,  Thomas  said,  "  Ex- 
cept I  shall  see  in  His  hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put 
my  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into 
His  side,  I  vfill  not  believe.  And  after  eight  days  again  His 
disciples  were  within,  and  Thomas  with  them  ;  then  came 
Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in  the  midst  and  said, 
Peace  be  unto  you.  Tben  said  He  to  Thomas,  Reach  hither 
thy  finger,  and  behold  My  hands ;  and  reach  hither  thy 
hand,  and  thrust  it  into  My  side ;  and  be  not  faithless,  but  be- 
lieving. And  Thomas  answered  and  said  unto  Him,  My  Lord 
and  my  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou 
hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have 
not  seen  and  yet  have  believed."  f 

Mankind  are  naturally  skeptical,  conceited,  carnal.  But 
God  in  His  mercy  vouchsafed  to  make  His  truths  manifest  to 
the  vrorld  by  a  seiies  of  stupendous  miracles.  Almost  every 
precept  inculcated  w^as  accompanied  by  some  miraculous 
performance,  in  order  that  the  most  hardened  skeptic  might 
become  convinced. 

Christ  announced  to  the  world  that  He  was  the  Son  of 
the  living  God,  that  He  became  incarnate  in  order  to  teach 
mankind  tiie  will  of  God,  to  give  a  practical  example  of  a 
holy  life,  and  then  to  suffer  and  die  as  an  atonement  for  their 
sins.  He  required  faith  in  all  of  these  things — in  Himself 
and  His  w^orks ;  and  He  exercised  His  supernatural  power 
for  the  purpose  of  enabling  mankind  to  accomplish  this  re- 
quirement. After  all  the  amazing  miracles  which  He  per- 
formed, and  the  wonderful  precepts  of.  wisdom  He  has  left 
behind,  it  is  indeed  strange  that  a  single  skeptic  can  be  found. 

Have  faith  in  God,  said  our  Saviour  to  His  apostles,  and 
you  can  command  mountains  to  move  away  and  cast  them- 
selves into  the  sea,  or  whatever  else  you  may  ask  for,  and 

*  Mark  xi.  22-24.  f  John  xx.  25-30. 


FAITH.  59 

your  commands  shall  be  obeyed.  "  If  ye  had  faith  as  a  grain 
of  mustard-seed,  ye  might  say  nnto  this  sycamore-tree,  Be 
thou  plucked  up  by  the  root,  and  be  thou  jdanted  in  the  sea : 
and  it  should  obey  you.  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  What 
things  soever  ye  desire,  when  ye  pray,  believe  that  ye  receive 
them,  and  ye  shall  have  tliem."  Peter  and  his  disciples  had 
perfect  fliith  in  these  things,  because  they  Avere  asserted  by 
the  Son  of  God  ;  and  it  was  in  virtue  of  this  faith  that  they 
vrcre  enabled  to  heal  the  sick,  cleanse  the  lepers,  cast  out 
devils,  raise  the  dead  to  life,  and  at  the  Lord's  supper  to 
partake  of  the  actual  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  so  that  "  lie 
should  abide  in  them  and  they  in  Ilim,"  as  it  is  written. 
Peter  and  his  holy  companions  did  not  profess  to  understand 
the  rationale  of  these  things,  because  they  were  not  of  men 
but  of  God.  He  who  created  the  heavens  and  earth  from 
chaos,  gave  to  them  and  to  the  world  ceiiiain  declarations 
and  assurances,  and  demanded  implicit  fluth  in  them  as  es- 
sential to  their  temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  Among  these 
declarations  were  included  many  things  of  a  supernatural 
character  pertaining  both  to  the  present  and  the  future.  We 
cite  a  few  of  these  supernatural  events  which  have  occurred, 
or  are  to  occur  in  the  future  :  The  conception,  incarnation, 
birth,  miracles,  resurrection,  and  ascension  of  Christ;  the 
daily  conversion  of  bread  and  wine  into  His  body  and  blood 
since  the  last  supper;  the  miracles  which  have  been  performed 
by  holy  m.en  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  ;  and  finally  the 
calamities,  the  wars,  the  tribulations,  the  darkening  of  the 
sun  and  moon,  the  falling  of  the  stars  from  heaven,  earth- 
quakes, "and  then  shall  appear  the  sign  of  the  Son  of  man 
in  heaven ;  and  then  shall  all  of  the  tribes  of  the  earth 
mourn,  and  they  shall  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory."  * 

Do  our  protesting  friends,  who  graduate  every  thing  down 
to  their  human  philosophy,  doubt  these  things  ?  Because  they 
cannot  analyze  and  explain  by  natural  laws  these  past  occur- 
rences, and  those  which  are  announced  in  the  future,  will  they 

*  Mutt.  xxiv.  30. 


GO  CIIEISTIANITT   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

still  2:>ersist  in  perverting  the  words  of  Christ,  and  in  declaring 
that  He  spoke  one  thing  and  meant  another  ? 

Bat  Protestants  assert  that  these  declarations  of  our  Lord 
were  only  applicable  to  the  apostles,  and  to  the  period  in 
which  they  lived.  In  proof  of  this  assertion,  they  argue  that 
the  power  of  j^erforming  miracles  was  conferred  exclusively 
upon  them,  and  that  after  their  death  all  of  these  promises 
and  rewards  incident  to  faith  were  null.  But  the  proofs  are 
overwhelming  that  miracles  have  repeatedly  been  performed 
by  holy  men  as  a  reward  of  faith  since  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles. 

Nothinoj  less  remarkable  than  these  miracles  could  have 
effected  the  conversion  of  the  men  of  that  j^eriod.  The  first 
great  end  and  aim  of  Christ  was  to  secure  faith  in  Himself 
and  His  teachings ;  and  He  adopted  the  most  direct  and  effi- 
cient mode  for  attaining  this  end,  by  continually  presenting 
to  the  people  supernatural  manifestations  of  His  power. 

By  nature  men  are  skeptical,  and  readily  influenced  by 
prejudice,  passion,  ambition,  and  love  of  display,  power, 
luxury,  and  pleasure.  The  dominant  habits  of  life  tend  to 
wed  them  firmly  to  these  worldly  attachments,  and  to  divert 
them  from  the  more  refined  and  elevating  delights  of  spiritual 
things.  In  consequence  of  these  natural  instincts  and  pro- 
pensities, and  the  habits  resulting  from  them,  our  Saviour 
was  obliged  to  appeal  to  them  in  His  dual  capacity  of  God 
and  man :  as  man,  in  addressing  their  finite  understandings 
(for  God  is  infinite  and  incomprehensible) ;  and  as  God,  in 
accomplishing  works  beyond  the  j^ower  of  men.  Sent  to 
proclaim  to  the  world  the  commands  of  the  Father  in  heaven. 
He  spake  as  a  man,  but  His  works  were  those  of  a  God. 
Meek,  loving,  tender,  charitable,  compassionate,  long-sufl^er- 
ing,  forgiving,  merciful,  slow  to  anger,  He  drew  His  dis- 
ciples to  Him  with  the  silken  cords  of  love,  but  confirmed 
their  faith  by  Godlike  achievements.  He  instructed  His  dis- 
ciples to  be  humble,  patient,  forbearing,  and  affectionate,  but 
enabled  them  through  faith  to  work  miracles. 

Christ  did   not  come  into  the   world  for  the  exclusive 


FAITH.  61 

benefit  of  the  apostles  and  tbcir  contempomries,  but  to  an- 
nounce to  all  the  nations  of  that  period,  and  of  succeeding 
ages  to  the  end  of  the  world,  the  way  of  salvation.  To  in- 
sure foith  and  a  general  compliance  with  His  commands, 
miracles  were  necessary;  and  these  miraculous  deeds  have 
been  permitted  by  the  Almighty  whenever  and  wherever 
they  were  necessary  to  secure  faith  in  the  gospel  and  conver- 
sions to  Christianity. 

In  Christian  countries  marvellous  and  continual  miracles 
are  no  longer  necessary  to  insure  a  belief  in  the  Vv^ords  and 
works  of  Christ ;  but  among  barbarous  and  idolatrous  nations 
supernatural  manifestations  are  still  permitted  by  God  as 
auxiliaries  to  their  conversion.  The  Creator  of  the  universe 
adapts  His  means  to  the  end  to  be  attained — forcing  faitli 
and  conviction  upon  those  who  are  dwelling  in  spiritual  dark- 
ness by  supernatural  manifestations,  but  withholding  them 
from  those  who  have  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

In  the  days  of  the  apostles  the  results  of  faith  were  more 
marked  than  in  modern  times,  because  the  magnitude  of  the 
Avork  to  be  accomplished  was  far  greater  then  than  now. 
The  Jews  and  Gentiles  of  that  epoch  were  not  only  unbe- 
lievers, but  bound  hand  and  foot  by  traditionary  supersti- 
tions, idolatry,  and  sin.  With  such  a  people  the  miraculous 
power  of  God  was  requisite  to  overthrow  their  deep-rooted 
prejudices  and  convert  them  to  the  true  faith. 

In  modern  times  the  results  of  faith  have  been  manifested 
cliiefly  in  tlie  divine  graces  which  have  been  continually  con- 
ferred upon  the  faithful.  Every  sincere  Christian  who  con- 
sults his  own  heart  will  confess  that  his  faith  and  confidence 
in  God,  and  his  prayers,  have  all  been  rewarded  by  graces 
and  blessings  from  above,  which  have  sustained  him  and  con- 
soled him  in  the  midst  of  the  trials  and  cares  of  life.  If  the 
modern  Christian  cannot  by  faitli  command  the  mountain  to 
move  from  its  bed  and  plant  itself  in  the  sea,  he  can  call  down 
from  heaven  graces  which  shall  bless  and  exalt  him  here  and 
hereafter. 

The  most  concise  and  perfect  expression  of  Christian  faith 


62  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

is  that  wuicli  was  composed  by  the  inspired  apostles  before 
dispersing  tliemselves  to  preach  the  gospel.  This  "  Apos- 
tles' Cj'eed  "  has  ever  since  constituted  an  essential  part  of 
Christian  worshij^. 

The  Fathers  of  Trent  divided  this  creed  into  twelve  dif- 
ferent articles,  and  presented  lucid  and  extensive  explanations 
of  each  article. 

In  this  creed  perfect  faith  is  required  in  one  spiritual  and 
personal  God,  "  Avho  by  His  omnipotence  created  from  noth- 
ing, preserves  and  governs  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  all 
things  which  they  encompass."  Man  is  required  to  believe 
unreservedly  in  this  Almighty  and  Incomprehensible  Being, 
and  to  raise  no  question  as  to  the  rationale  of  His  existence ; 
"  for  Vvdien  God  commands  us  to  believe.  He  does  not  propose 
to  us  to  search  into  His  divine  judgments,  or  to  inquire  into 
their  reasons  and  their  causes,  but  demands  an  immutable 
faith,  by  the  efficacy  of  which  tlie  mind  reposes  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  eternal  truth."  * 

The  same  faith  is  asserted  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only  Son 
of  the  Father,  begotten  from  eternity,  equal  in  all  respects  to, 
and  identical  in  essence  and  substance  v/ith  the  Father,  and 
distinct  only  in  their  peculiar  relations :  also  in  His  concep- 
tion, birth,  mission,  passion,  death,  resurrection,  ascension, 
and  second  coming,  when  He  shall  "judge  the  living  and  the 
dead : "  also  in  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  third  person  of  the 
Trinity,  begotten  of  the  Fatlicr  and  Son  from  eternity, 
"  equally  God  with  the  Father  and  Son,  equally  omnipotent, 
eternal,  perfect,  the  supreme  good,  infinitely  Avise,  and  of  tlic 
same  nature  vrith  the  Father  and  Son."f  Also  in  the  Holy 
Catholic  Church,  with  all  of  her  w^ritten  and  traditional  doc- 
trines. As  Christ  founded  this  Church,  endowed  it  with  all 
truth,  and  sent  down  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preside  over  it  to  the 
end  of  the  woi'ld,  so  tliat  the  gates  of  hell  siiould  not  prevail 
against  it,  we  may  rest  assured  that  the  design  of  its  Divine 
Founder  has  been  accomplished,  and  that  the  sacred  trust 
lias  been  faithfully  kept :   also  in  "  the  resurrection  of  the 

*  Cat.  of  tlic  Council  of  Trent,  p.  22.  f  Council  of  Trent,  p.  07. 


FAITH.  63 

body,"  "and  the  life  everlasting,"  wbicli  the  Fathers  of 
Trent  declare  were  intended  "to  convey  an  important  trutli, 
the  immortality  of  the  soul." 

Nearly  all  of  the  Apostles'  Creed  demands  absolute  faith  in 
mysteries  which  are  entirely  incomprehensible  by  man.  Who 
can  appreciate  the  infinite  power  and  majesty  of  the  Al- 
miglity  ?  Who  can  understand  the  mysteries  of  the  Trinity, 
of  the  Incarnation,  of  the  Ilesnrrection,  and  of  the  Ascension  ? 
Wlio  can  analyze  the  nature  and  capacities  of  the  soul,  and 
define  the  boundaries  of  spiritual  existence? 

The  very  foundation  of  the  Christian  religion  consists  in 
faith  in  many  things  Avhicli  are  above  natural  laws,  and 
which  cannot  be  comprehended  by  mortals.  Religion  re- 
quires us  to  believe  the  simple  assertions  of  Christ,  however 
repugnant  they  may  appear  to  reason,  or  to  the  ordinary  laws 
of  matter. 

A  fundamental  principle  of  the  Christian  religion  is  entire 
faith  in  the  gospel.  The  essence  of  ti'ue  faith  consists  in  be- 
lieving imiplicitly,  simply,  witliout  mental  reservation,  and 
independently  of  private  judgment,  all  the  teachings  of  this 
gospeh  No  mortal  can  possess  this  faith  without  a  due  ap- 
preciation of  the  fact  that  the  Almighty  is  infinite,  and  there- 
fore incomprehensible ;  that  His  knowledge  and  jiowcr  have 
no  limits ;  that  His  ways  are  not  our  ways ;  and  that  Avliat 
may  appear  mystenous  and  improbable  to  the  finite  compre- 
hension, is  ahvays  clear  and  simple  to  the  Infinite  intelli- 
i^ence. 

Man  cannot  comprehend  the  rationale  of  tlie  creation  of 
the  world.  He  knows  of  no  natural  laws  which  can  explain 
the  formation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  from  chaos  in  a 
brief  period,  nor  the  mysterious  phenomiCnaof  vegetal.>le  and 
animal  life,  nor  the  wonderful  operations  of  human  thought 
and  reason. 

The  soul  of  man  looks  out  from  the  windows  of  the  phys- 
ical body  as  through  some  optical  instrument,  and  all  its 
operations  are  limited  to  the  capacities  of  the  different  organs. 
Through  the  eyes  and  ears  it  can  define  objects  and  distin- 


64  CUKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

guish  sounds  from  limited  distances,  and  throiigli  the  other 
senses  it  derives  certain  impressions  respecting  the  nature 
and  properties  of  substances.  By  the  use  of  optical,  aural, 
and  other  instruments,  it  can  distinguish  objects  and  s-ounds 
from  still  greater  distances,  and  obtain  a  better  appreciation 
of  the  nature  and  properties  of  matter.  But  the  infinite  in- 
telligence of  Jehovah  can  span  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  ever  seeing  and  appreciating  all 
things.  It  becometh  men,  then,  to  accept  all  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  Avithout  cavil,  reservation,  or  doubt. 

During  the  sojourn  of  our  Saviour  upon  earth,  great  mul- 
titudes of  people  heard  His  divine  words  and  saw  His  wonder- 
ful miracles.  Many  believed  in  Him  and  worshipped  Him  as 
the  Saviour  of  the  world.  Even  the  unbelievinsj  Jews  wit- 
nessed  and  acknowledged  His  miracles,  declaring  that  He 
performed  them  through  the  aid  of  Beelzebub ;  while  they  de- 
nounced Him  as  a  false  prophet,  and  His  doctrines  as  false 
doctrines.  In  like  manner,  the  miracles  of  Peter,  John,  and 
other  disciples  were  witnessed  by  large  numbers  of  people, 
and  therefore  readily  believed  in. 

These  elements  of  Christian  faith  appealed  directly  and 
overwhelmingly  to  those  who  were  contemporaneous  with 
Christ  and  His  disci23les,  and  were  in  many  instances  followed' 
by  an  immediate,  absolute,  and  abiding  faith  in  what  was 
taught  and  practised.  Both  sacred  and  profane  history  have 
handed  down  to  us  a  record  of  these  momentous  occurrences, 
with  a  perfect  accord  as  to  the  facts  themselves.  They  have 
also  handed  down  to  us,  with  the  same  coinciding  testimony, 
other  miraculous  performances. 

On  the  strength  of  these  records,  all  actual  Christians 
have  an  implicit  faith  in  the  doctrines  there  inculcated,  and 
the  miracles  there  performed.  They  do  not  entertain  the 
slightest  doubt  that  Christ  and  His  disciples  then  raised 
the  dead,  cured  the  lame,  the  blind,  and  the  deaf;  turned 
water  into  wine;  fed  multitudes  from  a  few  small  loaves 
and  fislies,  and  at  the  last  supper  convei'ted  bread  and 
wine   into   the  actual   body  and    blood  of  Jesus.      All  of 


FAITH.  G5 

these  things  they  believe,  because  they  stand  on  the  im- 
mutable pages  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  are  corrobo- 
rated by  the  profane  writings  of  those  who  were  opposed 
to  the  Saviour.  All  of  these  events  Avere  above  natural 
hiAvs,  and  incomprehensible  to  human  reason,  yet  the  whole 
Christian  world  gives  entire  credence  to  them. 

Faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and  His  teachings,  as  inculcated 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  in  the  traditions  of  the  Church 
which  He  established  previous  to  His  ascension,  is  unques- 
tionably a  fundamental  element  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  mission  of  our  Saviour  on  earth  was  a  mission  from  God 
to  man — a  revelation  from  an  Infinite  and  Incomj^rehensible 
Creator  to  His  finite,  erring,  and  weak  creatures.  He  came, 
not  to  discuss  doctrinal  points,  or  to  reconcile  human  philoso- 
phies, or  to  render  himself  subservient  to  the  hypotheses  or 
the  reasonings  of  men,  but  to  teach  the  will  and  announce 
the  commands  of  the  Father  who  sent  Him.  From  begin- 
ning to  end  His  mission  was  characterized  by  supernatural 
deeds,  and  the  inculcation  of  precepts  and  practices  opposed 
to  those  whicli  then  universally  obtained.  From  these  facts 
we  may  understand  wdiy  our  Lord  so  frequently  insisted  on 
faith  in  Him  and  His  works,  and  v.hy  He  promised  and  be- 
stowed sucli  rich  rewards  upon  those  who  had  faith. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  importance  of  faith  as  an  ele- 
ment of  Christianity,  it  cannot  secure  salvation  unless  accom- 
panied by  appropriate  works.  Faith  is  an  indispensable 
principle  of  religion — a  foundation-stone  of  the  divine  edifice, 
but  it  is  only  a  single  element  among  many  whicli  pertain  to 
the  true  Christian.  It  is  the  alphabet  of  the  religious  neo- 
phyte— a  simple  mental  act,  without  fruits  or  profits,  until 
tlie  practical  duties  of  Christianity  have  been  appreciated 
and  mastered.  In  a  future  chapter  we  shall  make  allusion  to 
this  subject. 


CHAPTEE   lY. 

DOCTKINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


Repentance^   Confession^  eind  Beforonation. 

Among  the  fun  clam  ental  doctrines  tanght  hj  Jesus 
Christ,  Avere  repentance,  confession,  and  reformation.  The 
doctrines  ah'eady  referred  to — faith  in  God,  in  the  Trinity, 
and  in  Christ  and  His  mission — require  only  a  simple  mental 
effort  and  resolution  on  the  part  of  the  faithful;  while  true 
penance  demands  both  faith  and  works.  I^o  man  can  be  a 
true  Christian  who  does  not  feel  and  express  hearty  sorroAV 
and  contrition  for  having  violated  the  commandments  of 
God,  and  firmly  resolve  to  obey  them  in  future.  In  accept- 
ing the  title  and  the  duties  of  a  Christian,  he  incurs  a  most 
solemn  obligation  to  obey  the  divine  precepts  and  command- 
ments, and  to  avoid  committing  any  act  which  might  retard 
the  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth.  But  if,  in  an 
unguarded  moment,  he  yields  to  temptation,  and  commits  a 
mortal  sin,  it  is  an  immediate  and  imperative  duty  to  feel 
and  express  sorrow  and  contrition  for  having  offended  his 
God,  and  to  resolve  on  amendment. 

When  a  son  disobeys  an  earthly  father,  and  brings  disor- 
der, perversion,  and  disgrace  into  the  family  circle,  he  is  just- 
ly expelled,  for  violating  the  peace  and  honor  of  the  paternal 
home;  and  he  can  be  received  back  again  only  by  express- 
ing sorrow  for  his  offences,  and  reforming  his  life.     The  har- 


REPENTANCE,    CONEESSION,    AND   EEFORIMATION.  G7 

iiioiiY,  honor,  and  welfare  of  the  family  require  the  fulfil- 
ment of  these  conditions,  before  forgiveness  and  reconcilia- 
tion can  be  granted. 

In  like  manner  do  the  honor,  harmony,  and  welfare  of 
tlie  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  require  the  same  conditions  of 
repentance,  acknowledgment,  and  reformation,  on  the  ])art 
of  those  who  disobey  the  divine  commandments.  In  a 
worldly  point  of  viev,',  it  is  universally  conceded  that  it  is 
the  duty  of  a  prodigal  son  Vvdio  has  brought  disturbance  and 
scandal  upon  his  house,  to  repent,  reform,  and  confess  his 
faults,  before  he  can  properly  hope  for  pardon.  How  much 
more  ought  he,  who  sins  against  God,  and  brings  disorder 
and  disgrace  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  be  penitent,  and 
to  confess  his  offences,  before  receivimv  forsfiveness !  For 
breaking  the  commandments  of  an  earthly  parent,  the  erring 
child  is  excluded  from  the  comforts  of  home,  and  the  social 
enjoyments  of  the  domestic  circle;  but  for  violating  the  com- 
mandments of  the  heavenly  Parent,  he  perils  his  eternal  ha|>- 
piness,  and  deprives  himself  forever  of  the  society  of  saints 
and  angels. 

Pride  and  self-love  are  among  the  dominant  passions  of 
the  human  heart.  Men  do  not  hesitate  to  labor  and  to  suffer 
for  a  lifetime,  in  order  to  secure  ttie  good  opinions  and  the 
applause  of  the  world.  They  stand  up  in  deadly  strife 
against  those  who  have  presumed  to  assail  their  honor. 
They  brave  the  perils  of  the  battle-field,  the  ocean,  and  the 
savage  wilderness,  in  pursuit  of  fame  and  glory.  If  they  are 
actuated  by  ignoble  sentiments,  or  if  they  sin  in  thouglit 
and  deed,  it  is  because  they  believe  that  these  degrading  se- 
crets are  hidden  from  the  eyes  of  the  world.  When  sin  runs 
riot  within  the  human  breast — pent  up,  silent,  uurepented, 
and  unacknowledged — conscience  and  truth  become  dormant 
and  inoperative,  and  man  falls  an  easy  prey  to  the  wiles  of 
the  tempter.  Ilis  pride  and  self-love  receive  no  shock  from 
exterior  influences  ;  no  curious  spectator  can  scan  his 
thoughts,  desires,  motives,  or  criticise  his  secret  offences; 
no  ambassador  of  Christ  beholds  the  record  of  his  offences, 


68  cnEiSTiAmTT  and  its  conflicts. 

and  announces  to  liim  the  penalties  of  sin,  and  the  rewards 
of  Cbi'istian  virtue,  and  therefore  he  persists  in  bis  evil 
ways. 

Men  are  naturally  prone  to  evil.  Their  natural  propensi- 
ties and  inclinations  impel  them,  with  almost  resistless  im- 
pulse, to  licentiousness,  luxury,  ostentation,  display,  covet- 
ousness,  and  to  worldly  ambition ;  and  in  the  acquisition  of 
means  to  gratify  these  desires,  they  are  apt  to  consult  inter- 
est rather  than  conscience.  Momentarily  these  propensities 
beckon  their  victims  on,  and  tempt  them  with  riches,  pomp, 
luxury,  power,  pleasure,  and  every  personal  gratification. 
Unaided  by  the  potent  restraints  of  religion,  these  influences 
would,  as  a  general  rule,  gain  the  mastery  over  poor  human 
nature.  Fortunately  for  mankind,  there  are  counteracting 
agencies  within  the  reach  of  all,  equally  potent  to  combat 
these  tendencies  to  sin,  and  to  rescue  them  from  danger. 

Chief  amomx  these  conservative  aoiencies  stand  the  fear 
and  love  of  God,  and  the  practice  of  the  sacraments.  Among 
the  latter,  that  of  penance  and  confession  holds  a  high  rank. 
All  men  involuntarily  shrink  from  acknowledging  their 
faults,  their  weaknesses,  their  meannesses,  and  their  viola- 
tions of  the  lavrs  of  God  and  man.  Pride,  self-conceit, 
shame,  mortification,  all  serve  to  render  confession  repulsive 
and  distastetuk  The  idea  of  being  obliged  to  declare  to  a 
fellow-man,  whose  respect  Ave  desire,  that  we  have  lied, 
cheated,  slandered,  stolen,  committed  adultery,  and  numer- 
ous other  sins,  is  so  abhorrent  to  every  decent  instinct  as  to 
constitute  a  powerful  barrier  against  the  commission  of  these 
sins.  The  man  wlio  does  not  believe  in  the  necessity  of  con- 
fession soon  acquires  the  happy  faculty  of  compromising 
with  his  conscience  as  occasion  requires,  and  of  obliterating 
all  memory  of,  and  responsibility  for,  past  sins.  Such  a  man 
may  pass  through  life  with  head  erect,  and  every  w^ay  re- 
spectable in  the  eyes  of  the  world  ;  but  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, when  all  hearts  will  be  exposed  to  view,  is  there  not 
danger  that  this  self-reliant  heart  will  be  found  black,  and 
loaded  down  with  unrcpented  sins? 


REPENTANCE,    CONFESSION,    AND   EEFOKMATION.  CO 

Confession  also  imi^oses  upon  every  one  an  imperative  ne- 
cessity of  frequently  reviewing  his  sins,  and  of  repenting  of 
tliem.  It  permits  no  sinner  to  compromise  with  his  con- 
science, or  to  evade  his  responsibility  for  a  single  grievous 
sin ;  but  he  is  in  duty  bound  to  acknowledge  all  to  his 
spiritual  adviser,  and  to  repent  of  all  sincerely,  before  the 
"  ambassador  "  and  agent  of  Jesus  is  authorized  to  grant  him 
God's  forgiveness.  If  he  deceives  the  mortal  and  finite 
agent,  and  confesses  his  oiFenccs  with  his  lips,  but  repents 
not  in  his  heart,  tlie  Searcher  of  hearts  hears  his  idle  words, 
and  sees  his  still  hardened  heart,  and  adds  fourfold  to  his 
condemnation  in  the  book  of  life.  lie  may  deceive  his  spir- 
itual father,  and  receive  from  him  verbal  absolution,  but  he 
cannot  deceive  his  heavenly  Father,  nor  obtain  from  Ilim  a 
ratification  of  the  fraudulent  transaction.  The  Church  has 
always  declared  that  confession  and  absolution,  witliout 
honest  repentance,  arc  invalid,  and  priests  are  always  in- 
structed to  impress  this  solemn  fact  upon  their  people.  Our 
Saviour  has  instructed  His  ministers  to  preach  His  gospel  to 
every  creature,  to  invite  them  to  believe  in  Him,  to  adore 
and  worship  Him,  to  repent,  to  confess,  to  be  baptized ;  and 
He  has  authorized  them  to  grant  the  Divine  forgiveness  to 
all  those  who  obey  these  commands  ;  but  He  has  given  His 
temporal  agents  no  power  to  read  the  heart,  or  to  detect 
hypocrisy  and  deceit.  The  ultimate  issue,  therefore,  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  and  woe  be  to  him  who  has  con- 
fessed with  his  lips,  but  mocked  at  the  mercy  and  majesty 
of  Jehovah  in  his  heart ! 

One  of  the  objections  raised  against  the  sacrament  of 
penance  and  confession  is  the  fact,  that  priests  acquire  a 
knov»dedge  of  the  vices  and  weaknesses  of  their  penitents, 
and  may  make  use  of  them  for  unworthy  j^urposes.  This 
argument  is  not  tenable,  because  the  principle  of  j^enance  and 
confession  is  of  divine  origin,  and  no  act  of  man  can  change 
or  impair  a  law  or  a  command  of  God.  Judas  Iscariot 
acted  the  part  of  a  hypocrite,  and  betrayed  his  Master,  but 
he  did  not  alter  or  weaken  in  the  sli^'htcst  de2;rce  the  v\-o]-d 


70  CHKISTIANITY    AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

of  God.  So  may  a  priest  betray  his  trust  as  confessor,  and 
commit  grievous  sins  against  liis  people  and  his  Maker,  but 
he  cannot  alter  the  Divine  ordmances.  He  may  still  further 
corrupt  an  erring  and  half-repentant  sinner,  but  he  blackens 
his  own  soul  and  risks  eternal  perdition.  The  All-seeing  eye 
looks  down  both  upon  the  confessor  and  the  penitent,  and  each 
must  render  a  strict  account  of  his  stewardship.  Individuals 
professing  to  be  ambassadors  of  Christ  may  violate  His 
sacred  laws,  but  the  laws  themselves  are  immutable  and  eter- 
nal. Ministers  of  the  gospel  may  daily  break  all  of  the  com- 
mands of  the  decalogue,  but  the  commandments  still  remain 
unaltered — a  beacon  of  light,  knov/ledge,  and  hope  to  the 
tempest-tossed  sinner.  Let  us  not,  then,  reproach  the  laws 
of  God  for  any  wicked  act  of  a  professed  disciple. 

Protestants  tauntingly  accuse  Catholics  of  committing 
sins  w^antonly  under  the  impression  that  the  simple  ipse  dixit 
of  the  priest  can  absolve  them  from  all  blame  and  from  every 
penalty.  We  refute  these  errors  by  a  brief  exposition  of  the 
actual  doctrines  of  the  Church  upon  this  subject,  as  estab- 
lished by  the  Bible,  and  as  taught  in  the  canons  and  decrees 
of  the  Fathers  of  Trent. 

Catholics  believe  in  the  necessity  of  Repentance  and  Con- 
fession of  sins,  because  our  Saviour  and  His  apostles  every- 
where inculcated  the  importance  of  these  duties.  We  cite  a 
few  passages  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  illustrate 
this  assertion. 

When  the  apostle  was  asked  what  men  must  do  to  be 
saved,  he  replied  as  follows:  "  Confess  therefore  your  si7is 
07ie  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  you  may  be 
saved."  *  "  Do  penance,"  says  the  Redeemer,  "  for  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  at  hand."!  Again:  "There  went  out  to 
him  (St.  John)  Jerusalem  and  all  Judea,  and  all  the  region 
round  about  Judea,  and  were  baptized  by  him  in  the  Jordan, 
confessing  their  s^?^s."  |  In  another  place  our  Saviour  says, 
"  Unless  you  do  penance,  you  shall  all  perish."  §     Again : 

*  James  v.  16.  f  Matt.  iv.  17. 

X  Matt.  iii.  1-6.  §  Luke  xiii.  3-5. 


REPENTANCE.    CONFESSION,    AND   EEFOEMATION.  71 

"  Many  of  them  that  believed .  came  (to  Paul),  confessing  and 
declaring  their  deedsy  *  These  brief  extracts  from  the 
New  Testament  include  both  the  positive  command  of  the 
apostles  to  Qncdce  confession  as  well  as  actual  acts  of  con- 
fession. Again :  "  If  we  say  we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive 
ourselves ;  hut  if  we  confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  iniquity."  f 
Aixain :  "  For  with  the  heart  man  believeth  unto  rio-hteous- 
ness,  GJid  with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salva- 
tionP  \  Again :  "  If  the  wicked  do  penance  for  all  his  sins, 
Vv'hich  he  hath  committed,  and  keep  all  My  commandments, 
and  do  judgment  and  justice,  living  he  shall  live,  and  shall 
not  die.  Be  converted,  and  dvO  penance  for  cdl  your  iniqui- 
ties, and  iniquity  shall  not  be  your  ruin.  Cast  away  from 
you  all  your  transgressions,  by  which  you  have  transgressed, 
and  make  yourselves  a  new  heart."  §  Again  :  "  Say  to  tlio 
children  of  Israel,  When  a  man  or  woman  shall  have  com- 
mitted any  of  all  the  sins  that  men  are  wont  to  commit, 
and  by  negligence  shall  have  transgressed  the  command- 
ment of  the  Lord,  and  offended ;  they  shall  confess  their  siny  || 
Again :  "  He  that  hideth  his  sins,  shall  not  prosper ;  hut  he 
that  shall  confess  and  forsalce  them,  shall  obtain  mercy."  ^ 
Again :  "  For  thy  soul,  be  not  ashamed  to  say  the  truth. 
For  there  is  a  shame  that  bringetli  sin,  and  there  is  a  shame 
that  bringeth  glory  and  grace  ....  Be  not  ashamed  to  con- 
fess thy  sins  /  hut  suhmit  not  thyself  to  every  man  for  sin.''"'  ** 
Again  :  "  I  will  recount  to  thee  all  my  years,  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  my  soul."  \\ 

We  have  presented  these  few  extracts  from  the  sacred 
writings  to  prove  that  penance  and  confession  of  sins 
were  habitually  taught  and  practised  both  by  the  apostles 
and  by  the  men  of  the  old  dispensation.  These  chosen  and 
inspired  men  of  God  vrould  never  have  sanctioned,  or  advised, 

*  Acts  xix.  10,  13.  f  1  John  i.  8,  9. 

X  Rom.  X.  10.  §  Ezek.  viii.  21,  22. 

II  Num.  V.  0-7.  T[  Prov.  xxviii.  18. 

**  Eccl.  iv.  24,  25,  31.  f  f  Isa.  xxxviii.  15. 


72  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

or  p]"actisecl  these  observances  unless  they  had  been  divinely 
instituted,  and  calculated  to  promote  the  cause  they  advo- 
cated. All  of  those  tenets  and  practices  of  the  old  dispensa- 
tion which  had  become  useless,  were  ignored  by  the  apostles 
of  Christ ;  while  those  which  were  to  be  continued  in  force, 
like  the  ten  commandments,  penance,  etc.,  were  reasserted 
and  practically  established  as  fundamental  j^rinciples  of 
Christianity. 

From  the  fact  that  Christ  gave  to  His  ministers  "  the 
keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  and  the  power  of  "  binding 
and  loosing  from  sin,"  it  is  evident  that  He  intended  that 
faith,  repentance,  and  confession  should  precede  the  exercise 
of  this  delegated  authority.  From  whatever  point  of  view 
we  regard  this  sacrament,  whether  as  a  command  of  God,  a 
precept  and  practice  of  the  holy  apostles  and  prophets,  a 
dogma  of  the  Church,  or  as  a  worldly  barrier  against  sin,  and 
a  promoter  of  virtue,  it  should  meet  the  approval  of  every 
earnest  Christian.  As  the  Fathers  of  Trent  truly  observed  : 
"  Confession  contributes  powerfully  to  the  preservation  of 
social  order.  Abolish  sacramental  confession,  and  that  mo- 
ment you  deluge  society  with  all  sorts  of  secret  crimes — 
crimes  too,  and  others  of  still  greater  enormity,  which  men, 
once  that  they  have  been  depraved  by  vicious  habits,  will 
not  dread  to  commit  in  5pen  day.  The  salutary  shame 
which  attends  confession  restrains  licentiousness,  bridles  de- 
sire, and  coerces  the  evil  proj^ensities  of  corrujDt  nature."  * 

Many  of  the  leading  reformers,  like  Luther,  Calvin,  Bucer, 
and  Melanchthon,  after  they  had  witnessed  the  disastrous  ef- 
fects resulting  from  a  repudiation  and  neglect  of  this  sacra- 
ment, expressed  the  most  bitter  regrets  that  they  had  con- 
nived at  this  revolution  against  the  Church  of  God.  Says 
Luther:  "The  world  grows  worse  and  worse,  and  becomes 
more  wicked  every  day.  Men  are  now  more  given  to  re- 
venge, more  avaricious,  more  devoid  of  mercy,  less  modest,  and 
more  incorrigible,  in  fine,  more  wicked  than  in  the  papacy."  f 

*  Council  of  Trent,  p.  191. 

f  Luth.  in  Pot.  Sup.  1  Dan.  Ad  ;  apud  Am.  Dis.,  vol.  i.,  let.  2,  ap.  2,  p.  85. 


REPENTANCE,    CONFESSION,    AND   REFORMATION.  73 


J,        VVV^^^JL^^OXWX,, 


Calvin  takes  the  same  A^iew  as  follows  :  "Of  the  thousands 
Avho  renounced  popery,  how  few  have  amended  their  lives  ! 
Indeed,  what  else  did  the  greater  part  pretend  to,  than, 
by  shaking  off  the  yoke  of  superstition,  to  give  themselves 
more  liberty,  and  to  j^lunge  into  every  sort  of  lascivious- 
ness  ?  "  * 

As  confession  of  sins  is  one  of  the  duties  required  of  the 
penitent  sinner,  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  every 
principle  of  reason,  fitness,  and  sound  policy  have  desig- 
nated the  priests  and  ministers  of  the  Church  as  the  most 
suitable  persons  to  receive  such  confession.  Not  only  have 
the  priests  been  appointed  by  Christ  to  hear  confessions,  but 
they  have  been  selected  to  preach  and  teach  Ilis  holy  truths, 
to  urge  sinners  to  repentance  and  reformation,  and  to  say  to 
them  as  agents  and  servants  of  Christ,  do  these  things  faith- 
fully and  sincerely,  and  I  am  authorized  by  my  Master,  Christ, 
to  declare  to  you  that  your  sins  are  forgiven.  The  canons  of 
the  Church  imperatively  require  all  priests  to  be  certain  that 
all  persons  coming  to  the  confessional  shall  fully  understand 
the  exact  nature  of  the  duties  and  resj^onsibilities  pertaining 
to  the  sacrament.  Every  priest  knows  that  he  perils  his 
own  soul,  if  he  arrogates  to  himself  the  supreme  and  absolute 
power  and  authority  which  belong  alone  to  God,  or  if  he 
permits  an  ignorant  man  to  suppose  for  an  instant  tliat  the 
inherent  and  essential  power  to  forgive  sins  pertains  to  him- 
self. It  is  his  sacred  duty  to  inform  the  applicant  tliat  he  is 
a  humble  agent  of  Christ  with  a  divine  power  of  attorney, 
to  hear  confessions,  to  teach  holy  truths,  to  give  good  advice 
and  information  upon  spiritual  matters,  to  warn  against  con- 
fessing with  the  lips  vrliile  the  heart  is  uncontrite  and  unre- 
pentant, and  to  pronounce  absolution  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  in  cases  apparently  suitable. 
The  Catholic  Church  has  ever  taught  that  though  a  priest  has 
pronounced  absolution  to  a  man  who  has  confessed  his  sins, 
and  apparently  complied  with  all  of  the  requirements  of 
the  confessional,  the  act  is  not  valid  unless  the  penance  and 

*  Calvia,  lib.  vi.,  dc  ScauJ.  ap.  Ling.     Tracts,  p.  235,  edit.  1S13. 
4 


T4:  CITEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

the  confession  have  been  real  and  thorough.  The  priest 
hears  the  confession,  carefully  examines  the  applicant,  and, 
if  satisfied,  pronounces  absolution  as  the  agent  of  Christ, 
provided  the  YeipentaTice  and  the  confession  have  been  sin- 
cere. The  priest  lets  the  penitent  clearly  understand  that 
he  may  deceive  the  mortal  and  fallible  agent  of  the  Almighty, 
but  that  he  cannot  deceive  Him  who  reads  the  heart  and  who 
numbers  the  very  hairs  of  the  head.  Lip  confession,  with- 
out contrition,  may  draw  from  the  priest  words  of  absolu- 
tion ;  but  every  Catholic  knows  that  these  words  are  only 
valid  in  cases  where  all  the  conditions  of  the  confessional 
are  complied  with.  A  false  confession  adds  to  the  guilt  of 
the  sinner,  and  places  his  soul  in  imminent  peril.  Every 
Catholic,  however  ignorant  or  humble,  is  aware  of  this  fact, 
and  governs  himself  accordingly.  The  charge  so  often 
made  by  Protestants  that  the  lower  classes  do  not  compre- 
hend or  appreciate  this  fact,  is  a  gratuitous  assertion ;  for 
it  is  an  oblig\atory  and  sacred  duty  on  the  part  of  all  priests 
to  be  quite  sure  that  every  one  who  aj^plies  for  absolution 
shall  fully  understand  the  nature,  duties,  and  responsibilities 
which  pertain  to  the  subject. 

Aware  of  the  importance  which  was  attached  by  Christ 
and  His  apostles  to  confession,  it  is  a  common  custom  of 
Protestants  to  confess  to  each  other  their  sins  in  open  meet- 
ings. We  have  often  heard  such  confessions  made  by  Pres- 
byterians, Baptists,  and  Methodists,  at  exhortation  and  other 
meetings,  with  general  details  of  the  sins  committed;  but  tlie 
impression  has  always  remained  with  us,  that  the  most 
flagrant  sins  were  omitted  in  the  enumeration.  Not  being 
regarded  as  obligatory,  or  as  a  sacrament  by  these  sects, 
they  only  confess  the  more  triAdal  transgressions,  while  tlie 
mortal  ones  remain  buried  within  the  silent  depths  of  their 
own  hearts. 

A  general  and  unsystematic  confession  must,  of  necessity, 
be  imperfect ;  and  when,  not  regarded  as  essential  to  salva- 
tion, will  rarely  be  performed  at  all.  Confessions  made  to 
worldly  men,  or  to  sinful  or  indifferent  companions,  would 


EEPEJS'TANCE,    CONFESSION,    AND   EEFORMATIOX.  75 

generally  be  received  with  sneers,  ridicule,  or  indifference; 
and  as  a  consequence,  the  needed  advice  and  encouragement 
could  not  be  secured.  How  reasonable,  then,  that  the  priests 
of  God  should  be  the  recii^ents  of  these  confidential  com- 
munications, so  that  by  their  examples  and  holy  counsels  they 
may  be  able  to  direct  and  sustain  hesitating  penitents  in  their 
efforts  at  repentance  and  reformation  ! 

Even  the  Catholic  Church  does  not  object  to  public  con- 
fession ;  but,  for  the  reasons  indicated,  private  confessions 
have  been  adopted  as  the  general  rule  of  the  Church.  Upon 
tliis  subject  the  Canons  and  Decrees  of  Trent  teach  as  fol- 
lows :  "  As  to  the  manner  of  confessing  secretly  to  a  priest 
alone,  although  Christ  has  not  forbidden  that  a  person  may — 
in  punishment  of  his  sins,  and  for  his  own  humiliation,  as 
well  as  for  an  example  to  others,  as  for  the  edification  of  the 
Church  that  has  been  scandalized,  confess  his  sins  publicly ; 
nevertheless,  this  is  not  commanded  by  a  divine  precej^t ; 
neither  would  it  be  very  prudent  to  enjoin  by  any  human 
law  that  sins,  especially  such  as  are  secret,  should  be  made 
known  by  a  public  confession."  * 

The  same  canons  declare  that  "  the  absolution  of  the 
priest  is  the  dispensation  of  aowther''s  bounty y  f 

To  the  last  day  of  his  life  Luther  regretted  that  he  had 
ever  attacked  the  sacrament  of  penance.  He  repeatedly  ac- 
knowledged that  wickedness  and  sin  had  greatly  increased 
wherever  the  salutary  restraints  of  the  confessional  had  been 
annulled. 

Who  presumes  to  deny  that  a  belief  and  practice  of  this 
sacrament  do  not  exercise  a  powerful  influence  in  deterring 
from  sin?  Who  does  not  know  that  the  confessional  lays 
bare  the  entire  criminal  record  of  the  human  heart,  and  that 
the  dark  picture  is  held  up  \o  the  gaze  of  the  sinner  by  the 
agent  of  God,  with  all  its  dread  penalties  attached,  until  his 
heart  softens  with  repentance  and  contrition  ? 

But,  argues  the  Protestant,  priests  abuse  their  sacred 
office,  and  pervert  the  secrets  they  derive  from  the  confes- 

*  Canons  of  Council  of  Trent,  p.  99.  f  Ibid.,  p.  100. 


76  CHKISTIANITY   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

sional  to  tlieir  own  private  purposes  or  to  the  interests  of 
the  Church.  This  is  a  gratuitous,  sweeping,  and  unfounded 
assertion ;  because  every  Catholic  priest  knows  tliat  he  would 
sacrifice  his  eternal  salvation  by  violating  the  obligations  of 
his  office.  Under  such  circumstances  he  must  be  a  very  bold, 
as  well  as  a  very  wicked  man,  who  would  dare  stake  his  soul 
against  temporary  worldly  interest.  Worldly  policy  would 
likewise  deter  him  from  abuses  of  this  kind,  as  frequent  public 
exposures,  with  their  consequent  scandals,  would  be  in- 
evitable. 

We  concede  that  it  is  possible  for  bad  men  to  pervert 
imjDortant  truths,  and  to  violate  the  most  sacred  laws  and 
precepts.  But  such  acts  cannot  shake  the  foundations  of 
truth,  virtue,  and  goodness.  Judas  betrayed,  and  Peter  de- 
nied the  Saviour ;  but  these  abuses  of  trust  did  not  impair 
the  importance  or  integrity  of  the  divine  laws  and  precepts 
announced  to  the  world.  It  is  possible  for  a  wicked  priest 
to  pervert  the  sacred  duties  of  the  confessional,  but  he  is  so 
hedged  around  with  penalties  and  dangers  of  every  kind,  that 
such  an  occurrence  is  scarcely  probable  or  possible.  A  wicked 
judge  may  pervert  the  most  wise  and  just  laws ;  may  set  free 
the  guilty  and  punish  the  innocent,  and  temporarily  convert 
the  judiciary  into  an  instrument  of  oppression  and  licentious- 
ness. But  the  laws  themselves  are  incorruptible,  and  by  their 
own  inherent  truth  and  justice  will  ever  vindicate  themselves, 
and  triumph  over  individual  falsehood  and  injustice.  So  will 
the  laws  of  God  and  of  the  Church  always  assert  their  in- 
herent truthfulness  and  beneficent  power,  and  triumph  over 
personal  infidelity  and  wickedness. 

It  has  often  been  truly  observed  that  if  the  Catholic 
Church  had  regarded  simply  its  own  aggrandizement,  it 
would  have  omitted  the  sacrament  of  penance.  Every  in- 
stinct and  impulse  of  the  natural  man  rebels  against  the  con- 
fession of  his  sins  and  weaknesses.  Confession  to  a  fellow- 
mortal  of  faults,  crimes,  and  other  violations  of  the  divine 
laws  and  commands,  involves  a  degree  of  moral  courage  and 
conscientiousness  which  many  men   do  not   possess.      The 


EErENTA^TCE,    CONFESSION,    AND   KEFORMATION.  77 

strongest  sentiments  and  passions  of  men,  like  pride,  love  of 
admiration,  conceit,  lust,  and  self-gratification,  are  all  arrayed 
against  auricular  confession.  So  long  as  sins  can  be  com- 
mitted, and  their  dark  tracks  remain  unseen  excej^t  by  the 
All-seeing  eye,  the  sinner  will  be  apt  to  continue  in  liis 
wicked  courses ;  but  let  him  be  made  to  believe  that  his 
eternal  salvation  depends  upon  a  truthful  confession  of  his 
sins  to  a  fellow-man,  and  he  will  commit  fewer  trespasses, 
and  be  more  obedient  to  the  commandments  of  God. 

Had  the  Catholic  Church  heeded  its  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature,  rather  than  its  knowledge  of  the  requirements 
of  God,  it  would  have  left  out  from  its  creed  an  observance 
so  humiliating  to  human  pride  as  auricular  confession  of  sins. 
But  as  the  Church  was  endowed  by  Christ  with  all  truth, 
and  as  the  Holy  Spirit  has  since  presided  over  it  as  its  per- 
petual guardian  amd  support,  this  sacrament  has  ever  re- 
mained fixed  and  immutable. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


Baptism. 

In  all  ages  of  the  world  it  has  been  customaiy  to  mangu- 
rate  important  events  by  certain  aj^propriate  forms,  ceremo- 
nies, or  other  acts.  The  joyous  festivities  at  betrothals, 
marriages,  and  births,  and  the  mournful  sorrowings  over  the 
dead,  and  over  local  or  national  calamities,  serve  to  imjDress 
strongly  upon  the  mind,  and  to  commemorate  these  events. 

How  much  more  important  that  the  Christian  soldier 
who  enlists  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  should  be  initiated 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  and  in  all  solemnity !  In  taking 
a  step  which  rescues  him  from  everlasting  perdition,  and 
exalts  him  to  a  position  v/hich  secures  for  him  eternal  happi- 
ness, the  Christian  inaugurates  a  new  era  in  his  life,  and 
should  be  impressed  as  much  as  possible  with  its  importance. 
The  sacrament  of  baptism  accomplishes  this  object. 

As  water  is  employed  to  wash  away  all  impurities  from 
the  physical  body,  our  Saviour  deemed  it  a  fit  emblem  to 
cleanse  the  spiritual  body  from  its  impurities.  Christ  prac- 
tically established  this  sacrament  when  He  was  baptized  in 
the  Jordan  by  John ;  and  He  enjoined  on  us  its  necessity 
when  He  commanded  His  apostles  to  "  go  into  the  Avhole 
woiid,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching 


BAPTISM.  T9 

them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you."  * 

The  imperative  necessity  of  a  belief  in,  and  a  due  observ- 
ance of  this  sacrament,  is  demonstrated  in  the  following 
explicit  declaration  of  our  Redeemer:  "Unless  a  man  be 
born  again  of  water,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."f  In  the  face  of  this  positive  as- 
sertion, certain  pretended  reformers,  j^uffed  up  with  human 
pride  and  conceit,  have  dared  to  protest  also  against  this  in- 
junction of  the  Almighty,  and  to  deny  that  He  really  in- 
tended it  as  a  serious  declaration !  These  impious  men, 
affecting  wisdom  superior  to  that  of  Christ,  have  presumed 
to  protest  against  this  passage  of  Scripture  as  void  of  signifi- 
cance, figurative,  trifling ;  and  each  one  has  substituted  in 
its  place  some  new  Protestant  idea  as  caprice  has  dictated. 

But  the  Catholic  takes  Christ  at  His  word,  and  believes 
and  practises  the  sacrament  precisely  as  he  has  been  com- 
manded to  do.  He  holds  fast  to  the  doctrine  that  "  he  that 
believes  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saA^ed,  but  he  that  believeth 
not  shall  be  condemned ;"  |  and  he  applies  to  himself  prac- 
tically what  St.  Peter  prescribed  to  the  multitude  who 
asked  Him  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  "  Do  penance 
and  be  haptlzed  every  one  of  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  § 

The  following  passages  of  Scripture  still  further  demon- 
strate the  importance  of  this  sacrament :  "  The  Church  is 
cleansed  by  the  laver  of  water,  in  the  v/ord  of  life.  "  \  "  There 
are  three  persons  that  give  testimony  on  earth ;  the  Spirit, 
the  water,  and  the  blood."  ^  And  John  says  that  the  Lord 
will  come,  "  who  will  haptlze  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in 
fire."**  •  And  referring  to  the  one  Holy  Catholic  Church,  the 
apostle  declares  that  there  is  but  "  one  Lord,  one  faith,  and 
one  baptism.''''  f  f 

*  Matt.  iii.  15 ;  xxviii.  19,  20  f  John  iii.  5. 

\  Mark  xiv.  14.  §  Acts  ii.  38. 

\  Ephes.  V.  2G.  ^\  John  v.  8. 

**  Matt.  iii.  2.  f  f  Eph.  iv.  6. 


80  CHEISTIANrrY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

'Not  only  is  the  sacrnraent  of  baptism  positively  enjoined 
on  us  as  essential  to  salvation,  but  our  SaAdonr,  His  lioly  apos- 
tles, and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  have  always  tanght  that 
it  confers  grace  upon  tlie  worthy  receiver.  Through  this 
ceremony  we  openly  enlist  into  the  anny  of  the  King  of 
kings,  and  promise  to  subject  ourselves  to  the  discipline  and 
the  duties  prescribed  by  the  divine  law  ;  and  to  enable  us  to 
accomplish  these  requirements,  divine  grace  is  undoubtedly 
given  us  at  the  moment  of  baptism. 

During  the  act  of  purification  by  water,  we  profess  re- 
pentance for  our  past  sins,  and  humbly  promise,  wdth  the  di- 
vine aid,  to  abstain  from  sin  in  the  future.  We  promise  to 
renounce  "  the  devil  with  all  his  works  and  pomps,"  and  to 
lead  such  a  life  as  shall  be  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God.  To 
fulfil  this  task,  so  difficult  to  sinful  and  carnal  man,  we  re- 
ceive with  the  sacrament  special  blessings  from  on  high. 

But,  respond  certain  Protestants,  this  application  of  water 
can  be  of  no  earthly  consequence ;  for  we  can  repent,  and 
"renounce  the  devil  and  all  his  works  and  pomps,"  per- 
fectly well  without  it.  It  is  the  heart,  the  conscience,  the 
intention  to  be  good,  and  not  the  mummery  of  applying 
water  to  the  person,  wdiich  is  essential ;  and  therefore  the 
performance  of  the  sacrament  may  be  omitted  or  not  as  con- 
venience shall  dictate. 

But  God  has  said,  "  Though  this  world  shall  pass  away, 
yet  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  My  word  shall  pass  aAvay."  It 
will  be  w^ell  for  the  impious  ^^^otester  to  remember  this 
text  when  attempting  to  substitute  his  personal  and  human 
ideas  for  the  explicit  commands  of  Christ. 

With  heart-felt  pleasure,  however,  we  record  the  fact  that 
a  very  small  number  of  Protestants  do  regard  baptism  as  a 
divinely  instituted  sacrament,  which  confers  special  bless- 
ings upon  worthy  recipients,  which  aids  them  in  resisting 
temptations  and  sin,  and  wdiich  is  essential  to  their  present 
and  future  welfare  and  happiness. 

All  of  those  who  entertain  this  opinion  still  stand  on  the 
Roman  Catholic  platform,  and  avail  themselves  of  one  of 


BAPTISM.  81 

the  means  of  grace  Avliicli  enables  the  Christian  to  obey  the 
commands  of  God. 

Faith  in  and  the  proper  performance  of  the  sacrament  of 
baptism  accomplishes  three  important  ends,  viz. : 

1.  Obedience  to  the  express  commands  of  our  Saviour. 

2.  It  establishes,  strengthens,  and  confirms  us  in  the  true 
faith  as  taught  by  Christ,  His  apostles,  and  their  successors. 

3.  It  endows  the  Christian  Avith  special  graces  from  above, 
which  enable  him  to  resist  more  effectually  the  temptations 
which  surround  him,  and  keep  in  subjection  those  worldly 
and  carnal  propensities  which  would  otherw^ise  lead  him  on 
to  final  perdition. 

Woe  to  those  unbelievers  who  disregard  this  sacrament ! 
AYoe  to  those  pretended  refoniiers  who  presume  to  misinter- 
pret, alter,  and  reform  the  specific  and  imperative  commands 
of  the  Redeemer !  Woe  to  those  "  false  teachers,"  those 
"  seekers  after  strange  doctrines,"  who  affect  to  comprehend 
the  intentions  and  designs  of  the  Almighty,  and  who,  wdth 
impious  temerity,  pervert  His  -plain  injunctions,  and  adapt 
tliem  to  the  convenience,  the  caprice,  or  the  philosophy  of 
finite  human  reason ! 

To  those  Protestants  who  assent  to  the  three  divisions 
of  the  Catholic  religion  already  alluded  to,  and  who  believe 
in  and  practise  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  we  tender  our 
congratulations,  and  assure  them  that  they  are  almost  Cath- 
olics. A  belief  in  and  a  practice  of  a  few  more  grace-con- 
ferring sacraments  instituted  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and 
their  conversion  will  be  fully  accomplished.  And  the  addi- 
tional means  of  grace — these  Heaven-bestowed  auxiliaries  of 
Christian  faith  and  practice,  are  by  no  means  so  diflicult  of 
belief,  as  other  points  concerning  which  they  entertain  no 
doubt,  like  the  conception  and  birth  of  our  Saviour  and  his 
miracles. 

4* 


CHAPTER  VL 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


Confirtnation. 

A  PEEUSAL  of  the  ISTew  Testament  will  demonstrate  the 
fact  that  Christ  and  His  apostles  regarded  the  sacrament  of 
confirmation  as  an  essential  element  of  Christianity.  By- 
nature  man  is  weak,  worldly,  and  skeptical.  Without  aid 
from  above  he  doubts,  he  vacillates,  he  loses  courage,  he 
falls.  Even  the  apostles,  when  the  climax  of  the  persecutions 
of  our  Saviour  was  near  at  hand,  doubted,  waA^ered,  some  fled 
and  concealed  themselves,  and  some  denied  Him  openly  for 
the  moment ;  but  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  soon  came 
upon  them  at  Pentecost,  to  confirm  them  and  sustain  them  in 
the  faith  and  practice  of  the  ministry.  Having  received  this 
divine  gift  directly  from  God  Himself,  they  recognized  and 
appreciated  the  wonderful  influence  it  exercised  over  them, 
and  ever  afterward  called  down  from  above  the  same  heavenly 
influence  upon  the  professed  believers  in  Christ  and  His 
teachings. 

During  the  performance  of  this  sacrament,  the  recipient 
again  reviews  his  past  life,  repents  of  his  sins,  confirms  his 
faith,  and  receives  through  the  bishop  renewed  graces  and 
blessings  from  Heaven. 

The  Scriptures  contain  many  passages  which  prove  that 
it  was  customary  with  Christ  and  His  apostles  to  confirm  their 
new  converts  by  calling  down  upon  them  the  direct  influence 


CONFIEMATIO^^".  bo 

of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  divine  ceremony  strengthened  their 
faith,  gave  them  courage  and  ability  to  resist  temptation,  and 
to  fight  manfully  the  battles  of  the  Cross.  Thus,  when  Peter 
and  John  were  sent  to  the  people  of  Samaria,  "  who  had  re- 
ceived the  word  of  God,  and  had  been  baptized  only,  they 
prayed  for  them,  that  they  might  receive  the  Holy  Ghost : 
for  as  yet  He  was  fallen  upon  none  of  them :  only  they  were 
baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Then  laid  the)/  their 
hands  on  them^  and  they  received  the  Holy  Ghost.  And 
when  Simon  saw  that  through  laying  on  of  the  apostles' 
hands  the  Holy  Ghost  was  given,  he  oifered  them  money."  * 

Was  this  ceremony  of  Peter  and  John  a  useless  and  idle 
one?  Did  they  pray  for  these  newly-converted  and  newly- 
baptized  people  of  Samaria,  and  then  lay  their  hands  upon 
them  simply  for  display  or  ostentation,  or  to  call  down  upon 
them  the  Holy  Spirit,  so  that  they  should  be  confirmed  and 
strengthened  in  their  faith  ? 

"And  Judas  and  Silas  being  prophets  also  themselves, 
exhorted  the  brethren  with  many  words,  aiid  confirmed 
thetny  f 

Why  did  these  prophets  of  God  confirm  these  brethren 
if  the  ceremony  is  a  useless  one? 

"  When  they  heard  this  they  were  baptized  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  And  when  Paul  had  laid  his  hands  upon 
them^  the  Holy  Ghost  came  on  the7n ;  and  they  spake  loith 
tongues^  and  prophesied ^  \ 

And  did  St.  Paul,  too,  commit  an  idle  act  when  he  laid 
his  hands  upon  these  people,  drew  upon  them  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  enabled  them  to  speak  in  strange  tongues  and  to 
prophesy  ? 

After  His  resurrection  Christ  appeared  to  His  apostles 
and  said  to  them  :  "  Peace  be  to  you.  As  the  Father  hath 
sent  J/e,  I  also  send  you.  When  He  had  said  thi^i,  He  breathed 
on  them ^  and  He  said  to  them:  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost; 
whose  sins  ye  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven  them;  and 
whose  sins  you  shall  retain,  they  are  retained."  § 

*  Acts  viii.  15-18.     f  Acts  xv.  32.     %  Acts  xix.  5,  6.     §  John  xx.  21-23. 


84  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

In  this  instance  Christ  called  down  the  Holy  Sj)Lrit  upon 
His  apostles  by  the  act  of  breathing  upon  them ;  but,  as  in 
the  examples  of  the  apostles  already  alluded  to,  spe^pial  graces 
and  powers  were  conferred  upon  the  recipients  by  this  spirit- 
ual infusion.  What  was  the  object  of  our  Saviour  in  thus 
"  breathing  upon  His  apostles  ? "  Was  it  not  to  confirm 
their  faith  and  to  sustain  them  in  their  trying  duties  as  His 
ministers  ?  At  the  day  of  Pentecost  why  did  Christ  send 
down  the  Holy  Sj^irit  upon  the  disciples  ?  Was  it  not  to 
confirm  their  faith,  their  courage,  their  resolution,  to  teach 
them  all  truth,  and  to  guide  and  support  them  after  their 
Kedeemer  and  Master  had  left  them  ?  So  when  Peter,  Paul, 
John,  James,  Silas,  Judas,  and  the  other  disciples  prayed 
over  and  laid  tbeir  hands  upon  the  recent  converts  with 
whom  they  came  in  contact,  did  they  not  call  down  upon 
them  the  same  Holy  Spirit  and  tlie  same  blessed  influence  ? 
Jesus  Christ  was  their  exemplar,  as  He  and  they  are  our 
exemplars.  The  sacrament  was  instituted  by  Christ  Himself, 
was  recognized  and  practised  by  all  of  His  apostles,  and  was 
transmitted  by  them  to  their  successors  through  the  Church. 

Is  it  probable  that  Christ,  and  the  ministers  of  His  religion, 
w^ho  had  derived  their  inspiration  directly  from  Himself,  would 
have  ]3ractised  this  sacred  observance  unless  its  holiness  and 
efiicacy  had  been  undoubted  ?  Christ  became  incarnate  on 
earth  to  teach  His  sacred  truths,  and  to  demonstrate  j^racti- 
cally  in  His  own  Person  the  perfection  of  human  life.  In 
obeying  the  commands  and  in  imitating  the  example  and 
practices  of  the  Saviour,  the  apostles  knew  that  they  were 
acting  rightly.  In  the  same  spirit,  the  Church  has  ever  fol- 
lowed in  the  footstej^s  of  Christ  and  the  apostles,  with  a  per- 
fect knowledge  that  a  practical  recognition  and  imitation  of 
their  doctrines  and  j^racticcs  would  secure  the  welfare  of 
Christ's  kingdom  on  earth.  Therefore,  in  allusion  to  this 
ceremony,  one  of  the  canons  of  the  Council  of  Trent  says : 
^'  If  any  one  saith  that  the  confirmation  of  those  who  have 
been  baptized  is  an  idle  ceremony,  and  not  rather  a  true  and 
proper  sacrament ;  or,  that  of  old  it  was  nothing  more  than  a 


CONFIRMATION.  85 

kind  of  catechism,  whereby  they  who  were  near  adolescence 
gave  an  account  of  their  faith  in  the  face  of  the  Church ;  let 
him  he  anathema." 

The  Catholic  Church  regards  confirmation  as  an  important 
means  of  grace.  She  believes  that  the  Holy  Spirit — the 
Spirit  of  truth,  love,  and  mercy — still  interests  Himself  in  be- 
half of  mortals,  and  still  comes  down  at  the  invocation  of  the 
bishop  to  influence  and  to  bless  the  children  of  men,  as  He 
did  in  the  days  of  the  apostles.  As  guardian  of  the  Churcli 
it  is  supposed  that  He  confers  special  graces  and  blessings 
upon  those  who  obey  the  commands  of  Christ,  and  imitate 
His  examples  and  those  of  His  apostles. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  necessity  of  confiiTna- 
tion,  surely  no  reasonable  man  can  object  to  the  prayers  of  a 
bishop  over  the  newly-baptized  converts,  and  his  invocations 
of  the  presence  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  with  a  view 
of  confirming  their  faith  and  endowing  them  with  strength  to 
wrestle  with  the  enemies  of  their  salvation.  K  these  solemn 
prayers  and  petitions  for  help  bring  forth  no  good  results, 
they  cannot  surely  be  productive  of  injury. 


CHAPTER  yil. 

DOCTRINES   TAUGHT   BY   JESUS  CHRIST. 


The  Eucharist. 

ISTeae  the  termination  of  Christ's  mission  of  love  and 
mercy  on  earth,  He  instituted  what  is  termed  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. He  had  ah-eady  informed  His  disciples  that  He  was 
about  to  he  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  His  enemies,  to  be  in- 
sulted, beaten,  and  crucified;  that  He  should  rise  again  from 
death,  and  show  Himself  to  them  for  a  few  days,  and  then 
ascend  into  heaven,  from  whence  He  had  come;  that  He 
would  send  down  upon  them  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  teach  them 
all  truth,  to  confirm  them  in  the  faith,  to  support  them  in 
the  midst  of  their  perilous  duties,  and  to  preside  forever  over 
the  Church  He  had  founded. 

In  order  to  commemorate  His  divine  mission,  His  passion 
and  crucifixion,  and  to  leave  behind  Him  a  divine  token  of 
His  love  and  mercy.  He  established  a  perpetual  sacrament, 
at  which  He  promised  to  be  always  present  iji  person  under 
the  appearance  of  bread  and  wine.  He  prescribed  the  form 
and  mode  of  the  sacrament,  and,  as  lie  had  repeatedly  done 
before,  personally  performed  a  miracle  before  their  eyes,  by 
converting  the  bread  and  wine  into  His  actual  body  and 
blood,  thus  inaugurating  the  divine  institution.  He  entered 
into  no  exj^lanation  as  to  the  rationale  of  the  miracle,  but 
simply  asserted  the  fact  that  He  had  accom^^lished  it,  and 
demanded,  as  He  had  on  numerous  similar  occasions,  their 


THE   EUCUAEIST.  87 

absolute  faith.  He  also  commanded  them  to  perpetuate  this 
sacrament  in  remembrance  of  Him.  "  Do  tliis  in  remembrance 
of  Me ; "  and,  says  the  apostle,  "  as  often  as  you  shall  eat  this 
bread,  and  drink  the  chalice,  you  shall  show  the  death  of  the 
Lord  until  He  come;"  *  and  "he  that  eateth  My  flesh  and 
drinketh  My  blood  abideth  in  Me  and  I  in  him  ; "  f  and  "  he 
that  eateth  Me,  the  same  also  shall  live  by  Me ;  "  J  and 
"  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My  flesh,  for  the  life  of  the 
Avorld;"§  but  they  Avho  partake  unworthily,  "not  discern- 
ing the  body  and  blood  of  the  Lord,  eat  and  drink  judgments 
to  themselves."  || 

After  Christ  had  blessed  and  broken  the  bread,  and  jDOured 
and  blessed  the  wine,  and  declared  them  to  be  His  actual 
body  and  blood,  the  apostles  still  saio  only  hread  and  icine  ; 
but  they  knew  that  God  could  not  lie  or  deceive,  that  He 
was  omnipotent,  and  that  He  could  be  present  under  these 
apparently  unchanged  elements  as  easily  as  He  could  be  in 
heaven  and  earth  at  the  same  time,  and  their  faith  wavered 
not.  Many  of  the  disciples  had  seen  the  Holy  Spirit  under 
the  forms  of  doves,  forked  tongues,  and  other  material 
shapes,  but  not  one  of  them  doubted  that  these  objects  were 
difierent  manifestations  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  could  not 
understand  how  or  for  what  reason  He  came  under  these 
forms ;  but  the  divine  declaration  was  explicit,  and  they  had 
perfect  faith.  Moses  and  the  Israelites  could  not  compre- 
hend how  God  could  be  present  in  the  cloudy  pillar  by  day, 
and  the  fiery  pillar  by  night,  and  thus  walk  before  them  as 
their  guide  in  their  wanderings  from  Egypt  to  the  land  of 
Canaan ;  but  they  knew  He  was  there,  although  they  saio 
only  two  apparently  inanimate  pillars. 

Every  one  concedes  that  God  is  omnipotent — that  He 
pervades  all  things  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  that  He 
holds  the  universe,  which  He  created  from  chaos,  in  the  palm 
of  His  hand,  a  mere  bubble  of  the  illimitable  ocean  of  His 
infinitude ;  and  yet,  when  He  professes  to  manifest  His  prcs- 

*  1  Cor.  xi.  26.  f  John  vi.  57.  %  Jolin  vi.  58. 

§  John  vi.  52.  |1  1  Cor.  xi.  28,  29. 


V 


88  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ence  especially,  and  for  a  signal  purpose,  human  reason  cavils 
at  the  idea.  The  real  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament 
of  the  Eucharist  is  no  more  wonderful  than  was  the  real 
presence  of  God  in  the  cloudy  pillars,  and  the  fires  of  Sinai, 
or  the  real  j^resence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  cloven  tongues 
at  the  day  of  Pentecost,  or  in  the  bodily  shape  of  a  dove  at 
the  baptism  of  Christ. 

The  Council  of  Trent  teaches  that  "  the  Eucharist  was 
instituted  by  our  Lord  for  two  great  purposes  :  to  be  the  ce- 
lestial food  of  the  soul,  preserving  and  sujoporting  spiritual 
life,  and  to  give  to  the  Church  a  perpetual  sacrifice,  by  which 
sin  may  be  expiated ;  and  our  heavenly  Father,  whom  our 
crimes  have  often  grievously  offended,  may  be  turned  from 
wrath  to  mercy,  from  the  severity  of  just  vengeance  to  the 
exercise  of  benignant  clemency." 

"  The  difference  between  the  Eucharist  as  a  sacrament  and 
sacrifice  is  very  great,  and  is  twofold.  As  a  sacrament,  it  is 
perfected  by  consecration ;  as  a  sacrifice,  all  its  efficacy  con- 
sists in  its  oblation."  * 

As  a  sacrament,  it  brings  the  worthy  partaker  into  closer 
relations  with  God,  imparts  graces  and  blessings  to  the  soul, 
subdues  evil  propensities,  desires,  and  thoughts,  and  enables 
him  to  resist  without  difficulty  the  temptations  of  the  world, 
the  flesh,  and  the  devil. 

As  a  sacrifice  it  renders  honor  and  glory  to  God,  com- 
memorates the  passion  and  death  of  our  Saviour,  recalls  con- 
tinually the  obligations  due  from  mortals  to  a  Redeemer, 
who  left  his  throne  of  glory  to  suffer  every  insult,  every  in- 
dignity, and  even  death  itself  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  men, 
and  propitiates  our  heavenly  Father,  and  inclines  Him  to 
mercy  and  forgiveness.  This  perpetual  sacrifice,  which  is 
daily  offered  by  the  Church,  is  termed 

Th^  Mass. 

When  our  Lord  instituted  this  sacrament  at  His  last  sup- 
per. He  charged  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  "  This  do 

*  Council  of  Trent,  p.  174. 


THE   EUCHARIST.  89 

for  a  commemoration  of  Me."  *  At  the  same  time  He  declared 
Himself  "  a  priest  forever,  according  to  the  order  of  Melcliise- 
dech.  "  f  "As  often  as  you  shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink 
the  chalice,  you  shall  show  the  death  of  the  Lord,  until  He 
come."  I 

In  this  positive  command  of  our  Lord  to  perpetuate  the 
eucharistic  sacrifice,  an  inestimable  boon  was  conferred  upon 
mankind.  During  its  celebration  Christ  Himself  is  present, 
and  confers  priceless  graces  and  blessings  upon  those  who 
are  worthy.  He  who  said,  "  My  delight  is  to  be  with  the 
children  of  men"  § — "And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for 
you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself;  that 
where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also,"  ||  does  sanctify  and  bless 
the  sacrifice  with  His  divine  presence. 

In  the  celebration  of  mass,  the  priest  rehearses  all  of  the 
incidents  connected  with  the  passion  and  death  of  our  blessed 
Redeemer.  He  depicts  vividly  His  betrayal.  His  arraign- 
ment before  Pilate  and  Herod,  His  conviction,  the  insults, 
the  blows,  and  the  tortures  inflicted  on  Him,  and  His  cruel 
death,  in  order  to  atone,  by  this  great  sacrifice,  for  the  sins 
of  men.  And  these  unbloody  sacrifices — these  holy  com- 
memorations— sink  deeply  into  the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
those  who  believe  in  God  ;  and  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for 
repentance  and  salvation. 

As  we  have  already  observed,  one  of  the  principal  objects 
in  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  is  to  render  homage,  honor, 
and  glory  to  God,  by  perpetual  and  devout  representations 
of  the  pas?ion  and  crucifixion  of  His  Son  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  The  true  Christian  witnesses  these  solemn  ceremo- 
nies with  ever-increasing  love  and  gratitude  to  Him  who 
gave  His  life  a  ransom  for  us.  As  the  different  incidents  of 
the  celebration  become  developed,  the  minds  of  the  beholders 
are  carried  back  to  Calvary — to  the  Saviour  of  the  world 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  bending  under  the  weight  of  the 
cross,  mocked,  sj^it  upon,  and  scourged,  and  finally  nailed 

*  Luke  xxii.  19.         f  Ileb.  vii.  11.     Ts.  clx.  4.  X  1  Cor.  xi.  26. 

§  Trov.  viii.  31.  |  John  xiv.  3. 


90  CHEISTIAOTTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

with  crnel  tortures  to  the  bloody  cross,  between  two  male- 
factors. The  maa  who  can  witness  tliis  commemorating 
sacrifice  without  deep  emotion,  and  fervent  gratitude  and 
thanksgiving  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  must  be  cold  and  heart- 
less indeed.  We  have  often  participated  in  the  celebration 
of  the  mass,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  we  can  sincerely 
bear  witness  to  the  earnest  devotion,  and  the  fervent  grati- 
tude, thankfulness,  and  love,  which  are  almost  universally 
manifested  by  the  faithful  during  the  ceremony. 

Does  any  one  object  to  the  frequent  representation  of  the 
passion  and  death  of  our  Redeemer  ?  Does  any  one  distrust 
the  influences  of  these  holy  and  touching  reminiscences  ? 
Does  any  one  fear  that  Christ  and  His  wonderful  works  can 
be  too  often  brought  before  him  ?  Does  any  one  deprecate 
the  adoration,  the  praise,  and  the  glory  which  are  daily 
offered  up  to  God  in  these  sacrifices  ?  Does  any  one  su2> 
pose  that  our  Lord  will  regard  with  disfavor  those  who  ful- 
fil the  injunction  of  "  This  do,  in  commemoration  of  Me  "  ? 
Can  a  man  do  any  act  which  tends  to  glorify  God,  without 
a  smile  from  Heaven  ? 

Catholics  believe,  furthermore,  when  they  assist  reverent- 
ly and  devoutly  at  these  commemorative  sacrifices  of  our 
Saviour,  that  graces  and  blessings  from  above  are  imparted 
to  them.  They  believe  that  He  who  left  the  Godhead,  as- 
sumed mortality,  taught,  sympathized,  suffered,  and  finally 
died  for  mankind,  still  feels  an  interest  in  them,  still  sympa- 
thizes with  them,  still  desires  them  to  believe  in  Him  and 
His  mission  to  earth,  and  to  honor  Him  as  the  Son  of  God 
and  the  Redeemer  of  the  world,  still  desires  their  temporal 
and  eternal  welfare,  and  that  He  still  comes  to  them  during 
the  celebration  of  the  Eucharist,  as  He  promised  to  do  at  the 
feast  of  the  Passover. 

Is  this  idea  of  the  Catholic  world  injurious  in  its  tenden- 
cies ?  Are  men  less  devout  or  earnest  in  their  worship, 
when  they  suppose  that  Christ  honors  the  sacrament  witli 
His  holy  j^resence  ?     Are  they  more  inclined  to  sin,  and  to 


THE   EUCnAEIST.  91 

worldly  pursuits  and  pleasures,  after  assisting  at  a  sacrifice 
so  majestic  and  so  lioly  as  this  ? 

Probably  not  one  Protestant  in  a  thousand  has  any  just 
idea  of  what  the  mass  really  consists.  It  is  generally  sup- 
2:)0sed  to  be  some  priestly  mummery,  delivered  in  Latin,  with 
a  view  to  befog,  mislead,  and  subjugate  the  ignorant  and 
superstitious,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church  and  her  pastors. 
So  far  as  this  country  is  concerned,  we  are  quite  confident, 
from  much  personal  observation,  that  this  erroneous  idea  ob- 
tains almost  universally.  For  the  benefit  of  those  misin- 
formed Protestants  who  desire  to  know  the  actual  truth  re- 
specting this  habitual  Catholic  worship  of  God,  we  present 
the  following  brief  outlines  of  the  mass  : 

The  first  part  of  the  mass  consists  chiefly  in  praises  and 
thanksgiving  to  God  for  His  inestimable  blessings  to  Ilis 
creatures.  While  acknowledging  the  mercy  and  the  power 
of  the  Almighty,  "  we  praise  Him,  we  bless  Him,  we  adore 
Him,  we  glorify  Him,  and  give  thanks  to  Him."  We  praise 
Him  with  words  of  love,  gratitude,  and  humility  from  the 
heart,  and  in  the  soul-inspiring  tones  of  music.  We  bless 
and  adore  the  "  Holy  Trinity,  and  the  undivided  Unity,"  for 
the  infinite  mercies  He  has  vouchsafed  to  us  sinners,  "  for 
having  communicated  His  Spirit  to  His  holy  prophets  and 
apostles,  disclosing  to  them  admirable  secrets  redounding  to 
His  glory  and  our  great  good,"  and  for  "having  even  vouch- 
safed to  sj^eak  to  us  by  His  only  Son,  our  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  commanding  us  by  a  voice  from  heaven  to  hear 
Him."  While  praising,  blessing,  adoring,  and  glorifying 
God,  we  humbly  acknowledge  our  absolute  and  entire  de- 
pendence on  Him,  and  pray  "  that  He  will  mercifully  grant 
us  the  grace  to  profit  by  His  divine  and  heavenly  doctrine;" 
that  He  "  will  be  our  God  and  our  protector;  that  He  will 
grant  us  all  those  blessings  which  may  in  any  way  contrib- 
ute to  our  salvation ;  that  the  Lord  will  take  away  from  us 
our  iniquities,  that  we  may  be  worthy  to  enter  with  pure 
minds  into  the  holy  of  holies,  through  Christ  our  Lord ;  that 


92  CHEISTTANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

our  prayers  may  be  beard  and  answered,  and  tbat  our  sins 
may  be  forgiven." 

About  one-third  of  the  mass  is  made  up  of  these  acts  of 
praise,  devotion,  and  thanksgiving  to  God.  Much  of  the 
worship  is  uttered  in  a  dead  language  in  order  that  tlie  sig- 
nification of  every  word  may  be  preserved  in  its  original 
purity.  As  the  idioms  of  colloquial  languages  are  contin- 
ally  changing,  and  as  new  definitions  are  being  continually 
invented  by  difierent  nations  and  sections,  it  would  be  man- 
ifestly unsafe  to  trust  the  sacred  truths  of  God  to  these 
ever  occurring  mutations.  Spoken  languages  may  be- 
come changed  and  corrupted,  false  teachers  may  introduce 
schisms  and  dissensions  in  the  Church,  and  even  the  world 
may  pass  away,  but  not  one  jot  or  tittle  of  God's  holy  word 
shall  in  any  wise  pass  away.  The  Latin  is  a  dead  language, 
and  therefore  fixed  and  immutable.  For  this  reason  the 
fathers  of  the  Church  have  adopted  it  as  the  medium  for  per- 
petuating the  truths  of  Christianity  in  their  original  purity, 
to  the  end  of  the  Avorld.  But  every  missal — every  hand- 
book of  the  mass,  has  its  literal  translation  opposite  the  Latin 
text ;  so  that  all  who  run  may  read  and  understand  what  the 
priest  and  the  choir  are  uttering. 

Does  any  one  object  to  this  praise  and  glory  to  God  ? 
Does  any  one  object  to  this  adoration  of  the  Most  High,  and 
to  these  humble  acknowledgments  and  prostrations  before 
His  Infinite  Majesty  ?  Does  any  one  doubt  that  these  praises, 
these  adorations,  and  these  tokens  of  love  and  devotion  justly 
belong  to  the  Almighty  ?  We  j^ity  the  arrogant  and  fool- 
hardy man  who  begrudges  his  Maker  this  worship. 

Another  portion  of  the  mass  is  composed  of  professions 
of  faith  in  God,  in  the  Trinity,  in  the  incarnation,  in  tlic 
atonement,  in  the  crucifixion,  in  the  resurrection,  in  the  as- 
cension, and  in  the  doctrines  and  works  of  our  Saviour  while 
on  earth.  During  this  part  of  the  mass,  the  worsliipper  again 
humbly  acknowledges  his  dependence  on  the  Lord,  openly 
proclaims  his  faith,  confesses  his  sins,  and  prays  for  the  di- 
vine grace  and  pardon.     He  not  only  prays  for  himself,  but 


THE   EUCHARIST.  93 

he  implores  liis  pastor,  and  the  saints  and  angels  in  heaven 
"  v»ho  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,"  to  pray  for 
him.  In  this  portion  of  the  service  is  included  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed. 

Are  these  open  professions  of  faith  objectionable  ?  Are 
these  confessions  of  sins,  these  acts  of  contrition,  and  these 
prayers  for  forgiveness  to  be  deprecated  ?  Christ  and  His 
disciples  ever  attached  the  highest  importance  to  faith,  re- 
pentance, confession,  and  reformation ;  and  almost  every 
chaj)ter  in  the  Holy  Scripture  contains  allusions  to  them. 
Shall  modern  Christians  be  prohibited  fi'om  doing  those  very 
things  which  Avere  expressly  commanded  by  our  Saviour  ? 

The  last  portion  of  the  mass  consists  in  offering  up  on  the 
altar  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  under  the  form  of  bread 
and  wine,  in  commemoration  of  His  passion  and  death.  This 
is  a  mystery  quite  incomprehensible  to  mortals,  but  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  positive  commands  and  promises  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  at  the  last  supper.  "Jesus  took  bread, 
and  giving  thanks  to  God,  blessed  and  brake,  and  gave  to 
His  disciples,  and  said.  Take  ye  and  eat :  this  is  My  body, 
which  shall  be  delivered  for  you :  this  do  for  the  commemo- 
ration of  Me :  and  taking  the  chalice  after  He  had  sui)ped. 
He  said.  This  chalice  is  the  New  Testament  in  My  blood : 
this  do  as  often  as  you  shall  drink  it  in  commemoration  of 
me.*  "  "As  often  as  you  shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the 
chalice,  you  shall  sIioav  the  death  of  the  Lord,  until  He  come."  f 
"  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven :  if  any 
man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  forever:  and  the  bread 
that  I  will  give  is  My  ficsli^  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of 
the  world."  X 

To  those  of  our  day  who  protest  against  this  idea,  as  did 
the  Jews  and  Gentiles  of  Capernaum  when  it  was  uttered  by 
Christ,  saying,  "  How  can  this  man  give  us  Uisjlesh  to  eat," 
we  quote  the  response  which  Jesus  gave  to  the  Jews :  "  Then 
Jesus  said  unto  them,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Except 

*  Malt.  xxvi.  2G.     Mark  xiv.  22.     Luke  xxii.  19.     f  1  Cur.  .\i.  20. 
X  John  vi.  51. 


94  CHFJSTIANITT   A>TD   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  man,  and  dnnk  His  blood,  ye 
have  no  life  in  you. 

"Whoso  eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath 
eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  hira  up  at  the  last  day. 

"  For  My  flesh  is  meat  indeed,  and  My  blood  is  drink 
indeed. 

"  He  that  eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  dwell- 
eth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him. 

"As  the  living  Father  hath  sent  Me,  and  I  live  by  the 
Father ;  so  he  that  eateth  Me,  even  he  shall  live  by  Me. 

"  This  is  that  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven :  not 
as  your  fathers  did  eat  manna,  and  are  dead ;  he  that  eateth 
of  this  bread  shall  live  forever." 

"  Many  therefore  of  His  disciples,  w^hen  they  had  heard 
tJiis,  said,  This  is  a  hard  saying;  who  can  hear  it  ?" 

"  From  that  time  many  of  His  disciples  went  back,  and 
walked  no  more  with  Him."  * 

Many  modern  rationalists^  like  the  ancient  Jews  of  Ca- 
pernaum, find  "this  a  hard  saying,"  which  they  "cannot 
bear,"  and  they  turn  back  to  human  reason,  and  "  walk  no 
more  with  Christ." 

When  will  the  world  learn  that  faith  in  Christ,  and  all 
of  His  words  and  works,  is  the  prime  element  of  Christian- 
ity ?  When  will  men  appreciate  the  fact,  that  those  things 
which  are  mysterious  and  incomprehensible  to  themselves, 
are  clear  and  simple  to  the  Almighty?  How  long  shall  the 
clay  say  to  the  potter.  Why  have  you  made  me  thus  or 
thus  ?  How  long  shall  the  finite  creatures  of  earth  limit  the 
knowledge  and  power  of  their  Creator  to  their  own  puny 
intelligences  ? 

When  Christ  blessed  and  broke  the  bread,  and  gave  it  to 
His  disciples  to  eat,  declaring  that  He  gave  them  His  flesh 
and  blood  to  eat  and  drink,  was  He  jesting^  and  was  this  a 
mere  convivial  entertainment,  or  was  it  really  a  supper  of 
God — a  great  commemorative  sacrifice — a  divine  legacy,  re- 
plete with  blessings,  which  He  desired  to  bequeath  to  the 

*  John  vi.  53-GO,  06. 


THE    EUCriAKIST.  95 

world  as  a  perpetual  memento  of  His  passion  and  death  ? 
In  commemorating  the  grand  consummation  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation, through  which  the  Avhole  world  was  to  he  con- 
verted from  paganism  to  Christianity,  it  is  not  probable  that 
He  would  utter  idle  or  doubtful  words,  or  perform  a  vague 
and  indefinite  ceremony,  with  figurative  phrases  of  doubtful 
signification. 

In  the  natural  sciences,  how  little  is  known  of  the  nature 
of  the  phenomena  which  are  continually  occurring  before  our 
eyes  !  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  piece  of  iron,  and  I  assert  that  this 
ounce  of  apparently  inert  metal  contains  within  its  substance 
an  enormous  quantity  of  a  subtle  and  imponderable  agent  of 
vast  power;  but  under  almost  all  changes  and  circumstances 
inappreciable  to  the  senses  of  man.  By  rubbing  it  with  an- 
other piece  of  magnetized  metal,  we  develop  the  latent 
magnetism  of  the  first  piece,*  and  this  subtle  and  powerful 
spirit  may  be  made  to  continue  its  manifestations  almost  in- 
definitely. Were  this  declaration  to  be  made  to  a  multitude 
of  savages,  they  would  reject  it  as  absurd,  because  it  is  en- 
tirely at  variance  with  their  reason  and  their  experience. 
They  gauge  every  thing  from  their  own  stand-point  of  knowl- 
edge, and  thus  found  their  beliefs  and  disbeliefs.  The  more 
cultivated  man  gauges  all  things  f\'om  his  more  advanced 
stand-point,  and  even  requires  that  the  designs  and  the 
"  ways  of  the  Creator,  which  are  past  finding  out,"  shall  ac- 
cord with  his  own  human  ideas.  Let  these  men  contemplate 
the  words  of  St.  Chrysostom,  who  says,  "  Let  us  obey,  not 
contradict  God,  although  what  He  says  may  seem  contrary 
to  our  reason  and  our  sight :  His  words  cannot  deceive,  our 
senses  are  easily  deceived." 

Is  there  not  danger  that  modern  Protestants  are  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit  of  conceit  and  unbelief  as  that  w^hich 
prompted  the  unbelieving  Jews  to  doubt  and  abandon  our 
Saviour?     These  Jews  subjected  the  declarations  of  the  Son- 

*  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  magnetic  influence  is  communicated 
from  the  already  magnetized  iron  to  the  unmagnetizcd  bar ;  but  tliere  i.s  no 
proof  of  this. 


98  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

of  God  to  the  test  of  their  own  finite  comprehensions ;  and 
as  the  test  failed,  they  "  went  hack,  and  walked  no  more 
with  Him."  Protestant  philosophy  employs  the  same  test, 
i-ejects  the  literal  signification  of  the  plain  words  of  Christ, 
and  manufactures  a  meaning  in  accordance  with  its  ideas  of 
what  our  Saviour  should  have  said. 

"  Do  this  for  a  commemoration  of  Me."  *  "  For  as  often 
as  you  shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  the  chalice,  you  shall 
shoio  the  death  of  the  Lord,  until  He  come."  f 

"  Therefore,  whosoever  shall  eat  this  bread,  or  drink  the 
chalice  of  the  Lord  unw^orthily,  shall  he  guilty  of  the  body 
and  the  blood  of  the  Lord,  .  .  .  for  he  that  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  iniworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  judgment  to  himself, 
not  discerning  the  body  of  the  Lord.^^  \ 

Can  language  be  more  clear  and  explicit  than  this?  Is 
there  a  scholar  living  who  can  express  a  simple  fact  with 
more  clearness  and  less  ambiguity  than  the  Son  of  God  has 
expressed  the  mysterious  fact  of  the  conversion  of  bread  and 
vrine  into  His  body  and  blood  ? 

Cavillers,  who  reject  this  sacrament  because  they  cannot 
understand  how  the  Almighty  accomplishes  the  sacred  mys- 
tery, assert  that  our  Saviour  was  uttering  a  parable ;  and 
that  there  was  some  deep  and  hidden  signification  in  all  of 
these  positive  declarations  !  It  is  true  that  Jesus  often  spoke 
in  parables ;  but  in  all  instances  He  made  it  apparent  that 
He  was  thus  speaking.  For  example,  when  He  likens  Him- 
self to  a  vine,  and  His  disciples  to  the  branches,  He  tells  them 
that  Pie  brings  forward  a  parable  in  order  to  illustrate  His 
meaning  more  clearly.  So  in  all  other  instances  where  He 
likens  Himself  or  His  disciples  to  animate  or  inanimate  ob- 
jects, He  renders  it  apparent  that  a  parable  is  intended. 

But  in  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist,  our  blessed  Lord 
uttered  no  parable,  presented  no  ambiguous  problem,  or  en- 
deavored in  any  way  to  mystify  His  apostles.  These  utter- 
ances were  among  His  last  words  on  earth — delivered  only  a 
few  hours  before  His  crucifixion,  when  He  was  depressed  and 

*  Luke  xxii.  19.  |  1  Cor.  xi.  26.  %  1  Cor.  xi.  28,  29. 


THE    EUCIIAEIST.  97 

sorrowing  for  those  beloved  ones  Avho  had  been  His  associates 
in  spreading  His  doctrines,  and  whom  He  was  about  to  leave 
alone  in  an  unbelieving  world.  At  such  a  moment,  is  it 
strange  that  He  should  do  a  Godlike  act,  and  leave  behind 
Him  an  aid  so  j^otent  as  this  blessed  sacrament?  Or  is  it 
probable  that  He  would  express  Himself  to  His  chosen  minis- 
ters in  doubtful  language  ? 

It  pleased  our  Redeemer  to  leave  behind  Him  a  glorious 
memento  of  His  mission  on  earth — a  gift  such  as  only  God 
Himself  could  bestow — a  miraculous  manifestation  of  Him- 
self under  the  form  of  bread  and  w^ine,  Avhenever  the  com- 
memorating sacrament  should  be  offered.  At  the  j^assover, 
the  miraculous  conversion  of  bread  and  w'ine  into  body  and 
blood  was  as  real  as  was  the  conversion  of  w^ater  into  wine 
at  the  marriage-feast  at  Cana  of  Galilee.  Both  acts  were 
supernatural,  and  both  were  performed  to  demonstrate  the 
power  of  our  Lord  to  unbelievers.  During  the  passover 
Jesus  assured  His  apostles  that  in  the  future  He  would  con- 
tinue to  manifest  Himself  in  the  same  manner  whenever  the 
commemorating  ceremony  should  be  performed.  "  Whoso 
eateth  My  fleshy  and  drinketh  My  bloody  hath  eternal  life, 
and  I  will  raise  liim  up  at  the  last  day."  * 

The  difference  between  Catholics  and  other  sects  respect- 
ing the  Eucharist  consists  simply  in  this :  the  former  have 
entire  faith  that  Christ  meant  precisely  w^liat  He  uttered,  and 
that  He  actually  produces  the  mysterious  conversion  when- 
ever the  sacrifice  is  offered ;  while  the  latter  doubt  the  power 
of  the  Almighty  to  effect  the  change,  and  therefoj-e  i^ervert 
the  words  of  God  so  as  to  accord  with  their  human  phi- 
losophy. 

The  apostles  had  faitli  in  every  thing  that  Jesus  declared 
or  j)erformed,  and  in  repeated  instances  w^ere  commended 
for  it.  Unquestioning,  confiding,  absolute  faith  in  Christ 
and. His  teachings  and  works  was  always  earnestly  incul- 
cated by  our  Saviour  when  on  earth,  and  he  promised  special 
blessiuo'S  to  those  who  manifested  such  fliith.     He  did  not 

^'  Jobii  vi.  55. 


98  CHEISTIANITT  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

regard  with  favor  cavillers,  protesters,  and  doubters  of  His 
divine  mission  and  of  His  miraculous  powers  and  deeds. 
This  duty  of  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  all  of 
His  teachings  and  acts,  constitutes  a  prime  element  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  as  it  did  with  the  chosen  twelve.  How- 
ever contrary  to  naturallaws,  or  to  human  reason  the  subject 
may  appear,  the  declarations  of  Christ  are  the  only  standard 
of  faith  with  the  Catholic  Christian.  He  cannot  compre- 
hend the  mysteries  of  the  concejotion  and  incarnation  of  our 
Saviour,  of  the  Trinity,  of  the  miracles,  of  the  real  presence 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  under  the  forms  of  a  dove  and  forked 
tongues,  or  of  the  real  i^resence  of  Christ  under  the  form  of 
the  consecrated  bread  and  wine,  but  he  has  entire  faith  in 
them  all,  because  our  Lord  has  declared  and  decreed  them  to 
be  so.  This  is  the  kind  of  faith  which  Avas  so  highly  es- 
teemed by  Jesus,  and  which  leads  unerringly  to  salvation. 

Again  we  observe,  that  the  Church  instituted  by  Christ 
and  the  Catholic  Church  are  in  perfect  accord. 


CHAPTER   YIII. 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS   CHRIST. 


Orders. 


Throughout  the  New  Testament  we  find  frequent  allu- 
sions to  the  important  institution  of  tbe  priesthood.  As 
agents  and  representatives  of  Christ  on  earth,  as  "  ambassa- 
dors "  of  the  eternal  court  of  heaven  to  the  erring  subjects 
of  earth,  as  the  only  authorized  teachers  and  dispensers  of 
the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  gosj^el,  the  pastors  of  the 
Church  were  ordained  and  organized  by  our  Saviour  and  His 
apostles  through  the  solemn  sacrament  of  "  Orders."  Exam- 
ples of  tbe  performance  of  this  sacrament  by  Jesus  and  His 
disciples  are  so  numerous  in  the  Scriptures,  and  the  absolute 
necessity  for  ordained  ministers  of  religion  is  so  aj^parent, 
that  no  extended  remarks  upon  the  subject  are  required.  In 
a  trust  of  so  much  magnitude  as  that  of  minister  of  God,  we 
take  it  for  granted  that  every  right-minded  man  will  appreci- 
ate the  dignity,  the  sacredness,  and  the  responsibilities  of  the 
ofhce,  and  that  he  will  frown  upon  those  who  lightly  assume 
the  position,  or  who  in  any  way  detract  from  its  sacredness 
or  its  dignity.  When  temporal  rulers  are  appointed  to  office, 
certain  solemn  and  imposing  forms  and  ceremonies  are  al- 
ways observed  as  tokens  of  respect,  and  as  pledges  of  faith- 
fulness in  the  performance  of  the  trusts  reposed  in  tliem. 
No  one  attempts  to  ridicule  or  to  belittle  these  secular  ordi- 


100  CIIEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

nations  to  offices  of  power  and  trust,  whicli  regard  the  mate- 
rial welfare  of  men ;  and  those  who  have  especial  charge  of 
the  spiritual  and  eternal  v/elfare  of  men  should  not  be  less 
honored  on  their  induction  into  the  ministry  of  the  living 
God.  There  is  no  danger  of  impressing  the  solemn  duties  of 
the  priestly  office  too  strongly  upon  the  faithful,  or  of  show- 
ing too  much  respect  to  the  representatives  and  ambassadors 
of  the  Most  Hiojli,  or  to  their  sacred  office.  We  should  not 
begrudge  to  the  officers  and  servants  of  the  Almighty  those 
marks  of  respect  and  honor  which  we  cheerfully  bestow  upon 
temporal  governors. 

Christ  Himself  established  the  priesthood  of  the  new  dis- 
pensation, after  the  order  of  Melchisedec,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  the  Church  has  followed  in  His  footsteps. 
Christ  was  sent  by  the  Father,'^'  the  apostles  by  Christ,  f 
and  the  disciples  since  the  days  of  the  apostles  by  their  law- 
ful successors  and  representatives,  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  and  the  edification  of 
the  body  of  Christ."  |  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  Me,  I  also  send 
you."  §  "  And  the  things  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me  by 
many  witnesses,  the  same  commend  to  faithful  men,  who  shall 
be  fit  to  teach  others  also."  ||  "  For  this  I  left  thee  in  Crete, 
....  that  thou  shouldst  ordain  priests  in  every  city,  as  I  also 
appointed  thee."  %  After  Paul  had  ordained  Timothy  and  Ti- 
tus and  directed  them  to  ordain  others,  he  charged  Timothy 
as  follows :  "  Wherefore  I  put  thee  in  remembrance  that 
thou  stir  u])  the  gift  of  God,  which  is  in  tliee  by  the  putting 
on  of  my  hands."  ** 

The  following  texts  show  us  how  God  regards  those  who 
unlawfully  take  upon  themselves  the  sacred  responsibilities 
of  the  priesthood  :  "  Nor  let  any  one  take  this  honor  to  him- 
self, but  he  that  is  called  by  God  as  Aaron  was.  "  f  f  "  How 
shall  they  preach,  unless  they  be  sent  ?  "  H  "  There  shall 
be  among  you  lying  teachers,  who  shall  bring  in  sects  of 

*  John  Yiii.  36.  f  Matt,  xxviii.  19.  X  Ephes.  iv.  12. 

§  John  XX.  21.  II  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  «}[  Tit.  i.  5. 

**  2  Tim.  i.  6.  f  f  Heb.  v.  4.  Xt  I^oni.  x.  15. 


ORDERS.  101 

perdition bringing  upon  tliemselyes  swift  destruction."  * 

"  They  are  "blind,  and  leaders  of  the  blind ;  and  if  the  blind 
lead  the  blind,  both  fall  into  the  pit."  f  "  Beware  of  false  proph- 
ets, who  come  to  yon  in  sheep's  clothing,  but  inwardly  they 
are  ravening  w^olves."  I  Behold  the  attempts  of  King  Ozias, 
of  Core,  Dathan,  Abiron,  and  the  numerous  other  self-con- 
stituted priests,  to  offer  incense  unlav/fiilly,  and  the  terrible 
punishment  which  was  inflicted  upon  them  and  their  people 
by  the  Lord  !  "  I  sent  not  the  prophets,  yet  they  ran ;  I 
have  not  spoken  to  them,  yet  they  prophesied."  §  "  They  have 
not  entered  into  the  sheepfold  by  the  door,  but  have  climbed 
up  another  way."  ||  "  Keglect  not  the  grace  that  is  in  thee, 
which  was  given  thee  by  prophecy,  with  imposition  of  the 
hands  of  the  priesthood."  ^  "  And  He  gaA^e  some  apostles,  and 
other  some  pastors  and  doctors;  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  work  of  tlie  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ,  until  we  all  meet  into  the  unity  of  faith. .  .  that  hence- 
forth we  be  no  more  children  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried 
about  with  every  v/ind  of  doctrine."  **  "  Remember  your  pre- 
lates, who  have  spoken  the  word  of  God  to  you ;  whose  faith 
follow."  ft  "  For  the  lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge, 
and  they  shall  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth ;  because  he  is  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  of  hosts."  H  "  No  prophecy  of  Scripture  is 
of  private  interpretation  ;"  §§  and  "  He  that  heareth  you  (the 
ministers  and  apostles  of  Christ)  heareth  Me  ;"  |{{|  and  "  if  he 
will  not  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the  heathen 
and  the  publican."  %^  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  higher 
powers  ;  for  there  is  no  power  but  from  God  ;  and  those  that 
are,  are  ordained  of  God ;  and  they  that  resist,  purchase  to 
themselves  damnation."  ***  And  "  Obey  your  prelates,  and  be 
subject  to  them ;  for  they  watch,  as  being  to  render  an  ac- 
count of  your  souls,"  f  f  f  and  "  We  bemg  raany^  are  one  body 
in  Christ," m  and  '-There  shall  be  one  fold,  and  one  shep- 

*  2  Pet.  ii.  1.  I  Matt.  xvi.  14.  %  Matt.  vii.  15. 

§  Jer.  xxiii.  21.  ||  John  x.  1.  ^  I  Tim.  iv.  14. 

-**  Eph.  iv.  11-14.  If  Heb.  xviii.  7,  lY.  XX  ^'^^-  "•  '^• 

§§  2  Pet.  i.  20.  II II  Luke  x.  IG.  l^f  Matt,  xviii.  17. 

***  Rom.  xiii.  1,  2.  ff f  Ileb.  xiii.  17.  \XX  Rom.  xU.  5. 


102  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

herd,"  *  and  "  The  Holy  Ghost  hath  appointed  you  bishops 
to  rule  the  Church  of  God."  f 

From  these  extracts  it  is  evident  that  Christ  committed 
His  Church,  together  with  its  sacred  doctrines  and  observ- 
ances, to  the  special  keeping  and  guardianship  of  bishops, 
priests,  and  pastors.  He  required  that  they  should  watch 
over  and  preserve  the  integrity  and  unity  of  the  Church,  by 
holding  fast  to  the  sacred  interpretations  of  Holy  Writ  left  by 
the  apostles  and  their  successors  ;  and  He  enjoined  upon  lay- 
men the  duty  of  "  receiving  knowledge,  and  the  divine  laws, 
from  the  lips  of  the  priests,"  assuring  them  that  if  they  list- 
ened to  them  they  also  listened  to  Him^  and  if  they  obeyed 
them  they  obeyed  the  angels  of  the  Lord  of  hosts. 

These  citations  from  Holy  Writ  demonstrate  conclusively 
the  divine  origin  of  the  sacramental  institution  of  the  priest- 
hood, and  the  high  importance  which  was  attached  to  its 
legitimate  observance.  The  utility  and  propriety  of  the  sac- 
rament is  likewise  tacitly  conceded  in  the  universal  custom 
of  mankind  to  inaugurate  and  ordain  their  secular  rulers  by 
imposing  forms,  ceremonies,  and  oaths  of  office. 

As  in  all  other  matters  pertaining  to  religion,  the  Cath- 
olic Church  has  followed  literally  the  teachings  and  prac- 
tice of  Christ  and  His  apostles,  respecting  the  sacrament  of 
orders.  The  Chui'ch  has  entire  faith  that  tlie  proper  per- 
formance of  the  sacrament  brings  down  upon  the  reci23ient 
the  grace  of  God. 

Again  do  we  behold  the  Catholic  Church  faithful  to  the 
precepts  and  practices  of  the  Divine  Master,  in  perpetuating 
the  sacrament  of  orders. 

*  John  X.  16.  f  Acts  xx.  28. 


CHAPTEE   IX. 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


3Iatrimony. 

Probably  no  measure  could  have  been  devised  better  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  spiritual  and  temporal  happiness  of 
man  than  the  sacrament  of  marriage.  In  whatever  liglit  we 
view  it,  the  wisdom  and  love  of  our  Lord  will  be  apparent. 
The  direct  and  legitimate  tendencies  of  marriage  when  re- 
garded as  a  sacred  and  permanent  obligation  are  as  follows : 

1.  It  enables  us  to  avoid  and  to  resist  the  innumerable 
temptations  connected  with  the  passions  and  lusts  of  men. 
By  far  the  greatest  and  most  common  incentives  to  sin  are 
the  desires  of  the  flesh ;  and  we  verily  believe  that  a  vast 
majority  of  those  who,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  will- be  ranked 
among  the  "  lost  sheep,"  will  owe  their  fall  to  unlawful  sexual 
indulgences.  In  the  institution  of  marriage  we  have  a  refuge 
and  safeguard  against  the  dangers  of  tempestuous  passion ; 
and  grace  from  above,  which  easily  enables  us  to  fulfil  all  of 
its  obligations  and  duties.  The  apostle  prescribes  marriage 
for  the  express  purpose  of  enabling  men  to  resist  their  licen- 
tious propensities.  Thus,  "  for  fear  of  fornication  let  every 
man  have  his  own  wife,  and  let  every  woman  have  her  own 
husband."  And  after  continence  for  purposes  of  prayer  and 
fasting,  they  are  advised  "  to  come  together  again  lest  Satan 
tempt  them  for  their  incontinency."  * 

*  1  Cor.  vii.  2. 


104  CIIEISTIANITY    AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

2.  The  tender  ties  betyreen  parents  and  children,  and  the 
instinctive  desire  of  parents  to  promote  the  welfare  and  hap- 
piness of  their  children  and  families  by  good  examples,  by 
achieving  distinction,  honorable  positions,  and  respectability, 
operate  with  tremendous  power  in  favor  of  morality  and 
virtue.  Even  when  parents  are  so  wicked  as  to  violate  their 
marriage  vows,  parental  affection  still  prompts  them  to  de- 
nounce the  sin  to  their  children,  and  to  train  them  up  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 

To  what  a  deptli  of  degradation  and  wretchedness  would 
poor  human  nature  sink  were  it  not  for  the  divine  institution 
of  marriage  !  What  mountains  of  grievous  sin  would  over- 
whelm erring  mortals,  deprived  of  the  checks  and  the  re- 
straints of  matrimony !  How  wise  and  merciful  in  our  blessed 
Lord  to  exalt  the  union  of  man  and  wife  to  the  dignity  of  a 
sacrament ! 

3.  This  sacrament  endows  the  husband  and  wife  with 
grace,  and  thus  enables  them  easily  to  resist  all  sensual 
temptations,  and  to  confide  in  and  love  each  other  until 
death. 

The  sacramental  character  of  matrimony  is  proven  from 
the  following  passages  of  Scripture : 

The  union  of  Adam  and  Eve  was  effected  by  God,  thus : 
"'  And  the  Lord  God  said,  It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should 
be  alone ;  I  will  make  him  a  help  meet  for  him."  *  "  And  the 
Lord  God  caused  a  deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam,  and  he 
slept ;  and  He  took  one  of  his  ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh  in- 
stead thereof.  And  the  rib  which  the  Lord  God  had  taken 
from  man,  made  He  a  woman,  and  brought  her  unto  the  man. 
And  Adam  said.  This  is  now  bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of 
my  flesh :  she  shall  be  called  woman,  because  she  was  taken 
out  of  man.  Tlierefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  his 
mother,  and  shall  cleave  unto  his  wife  :  and  they  shall  be  one 
flesh."  t 

"  Wherefore  they  are  no  more  twain,  but  one  flesh.     What 

*-  Gen.  ii.  18.  f  Gen.  ii.  21-24. 


iMATRIMONY.  105 

therefore  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put  asun- 
der." * 

"  Husbands  sliould  love  then*  wives,  as  their  own  bodies : 
he  who  loveth  his  wife,  loveth  himself,  for  no  one  ever  hated 
his  own  flesh,  but  nourisheth  and  cberisheth  it,  even  as  Christ 
doth  the  Church,  for  we  are  members  of  His  body,  of  His 
flesh,  and  of  His  bones.  For  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his 
father  and  mother,  and  shall  cleave  to  his  wife,  and  they  shall 
be  two  in  one  flesh.  This  is  a  great  sacrament,  but  I  speak 
in  Christ,  and  in  the  Church."  f 

"  Whoever  shall  put  away  his  wife,  and  shall  marry  an- 
other, doth  commit  adultery,  and  he  that  shall  marry  her 
that  is  put  away,  committeth  adultery."  J 

"  A  woman  is  bound  by  the  law,  as  long  as  her  husband 
liveth;  but  if  her  husband  die,  she  is  at  liberty:  let  her  marry 

whom   she  v>^ill,  only  in  the  Lord To   them  that  arc 

married,  not  I,  but  the  Lord  commandeth,  that  the  wife  de- 
part not  from  her  husband,  and  if  she  depart,  that  she  remain 
unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to  her  husband."  § 

The  divine  origin  of  this  sacrament  is  so  manifest,  as  to 
render  any  further  discussion  of  the  subject  unnecessary.  The 
Catholic  Church  has  simply  retained  and  perpetuated  it  pre- 
cisely as  it  was  instituted  by  God  the  Father  in  the  begin- 
ning, and  confirmed  afterward  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

In  alluding  to  the  influence  of  the  sacrament  of  marriaire 
in  elevating  woman  to  her  true  position,  Allies  thus  writes : 
"  The  state  of  marriage  alone  gave  to  Christian  parents  an 
infinitely  higher  knowledge  concerning  this  [the  meaning  of 
life  with  reference  to  this  life  and  the  world  to  come],  tlian 
the  wisest  and  best  among  them  [the  Romans  of  the  Augus- 
tan age]  possessed.  For  the  mother,  however  poor  and  ig- 
noi-ant  she  might  be,  knew  that  the  children  she  was  bring- 
ing into  the  world  would  not  only  belong  by  biilh  to  an 
earthly  state,  but  were  to  be  made  citizens  of  an  eternal 
kingdom.  She  possessed,  and  would  communicate  a  definite 
knowledge  of  this,  of  which  Plato,  Aristotle,  and  Cicero,  had 

*  Matt.  xk.  6.  f  Eph.  v.  28.  ^  Matt.  xix.  9.  §  1  Cor.  vii.  39. 

5* 


106  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

not  dreamed  in  their  highest  flights Even  Horace,  the 

most  elegant  of  poets,  the  bosom  friend  of  Maecenas  and 
Augustus,  free  from  all  taint  of  avarice  and  meanness,  and 
beloved  by  his  friends,  was,  in  his  own  words,  'a  hog  of  the 
herd  of  Epicurus.'  He  has  bequeathed  to  posterity  his  specific 
disbelief  in  Providence  on  God's  side,  responsibility  on  man's ; 
for  him  the  gods  '  lie  beside  their  nectar,  careless  of  man- 
kind.'"* 

*  "  The  Formation  of  Christendom,"  p.  322. 


CHAPTEE   X. 

DOCTRINES  TAUGHT  BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


Extreme  TTnction. 

*'Is  any  man  sick  among  you?  Let  him  bring  in  the 
priests  of  tlie  Church,  and  let  them  pray  over  him,  anointing 
him  with  oil,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  prayer  of 
faith  shall  save  the  sick  man,  and  the  Lord  shall  raise  him 
up  ;  and  if  he  be  in  sins,  they  shall  be  forgiven  him."  * 

Was  this  injunction  of  the  inspired  apostle  idle  and 
meaningless?  Are  we  to  believe  that  the  "bringing  in  the 
priests  of  the  Church"  to  the  sick  man,  "their  prayers  over 
him,"  and  "  their  anointings  with  oil,"  were  pedantic  displays, 
and  priestly  mummeries,  unaccompanied  by  any  divine  bless- 
ings ?  Was  it  customary  for  the  chosen  apostles  of  Christ 
to  inculcate  or  to  practise  vain  ceremonies,  and  thus  to  mock 
the  world,  instead  of  presenting  themselves  as  examples  for 
imitation  ?  Were  these  holy  men  inspired  by  God  to  preach 
and  practise  one  thing,  while  those  who  came  after  them 
were  to  ignore  it,  and  teach  and  practise  another  thing  ? 

When  our  Saviour  dispersed  His  discijiles  among  the 
nations  to  preach  His  word,  Mark  informs  us  that,  "  Going 
forth,  they  j^reached  that  all  should  do  penance ;  and  they 
cast  out  many  devils,  and  anointed  with  oil  many  loho  were 
sick,  and  healed  them.''''\ 

*  James  v.  14,  15.  \  Mark  ri.  12,  13. 


108  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Was  it  a  useless  thing  for  the  disciples  to  preach  repent- 
ance to  these  nations,  and  to  anoint  their  sick  with  oil  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord?  Were  not  all  of  the  commands  and  ordi- 
nances of  Christ  and  the  apostles  intended  for  our  instruction 
and  imitation  ? 

If  there  is  ever  a  period  when  a  man  needs  the  prayers 
and  consolations  of  his  spiritual  adviser,  and  grace  from 
above,  it  is  when  he  is  dangerously  sick,  and  near  to  death. 
However  strongly  fortified  he  may  be  in  his  religious  faith, 
and  from  the  contemplation  of  a  well-spent  life,  he  instinc- 
tively regards  with  more  or  less  awe  and  dread  the  approach 
of  dissolution.  He  knov/s  that  he  is  to  be  severed  forever 
from  all  of  the  ties  of  earth,  from  those  he  has  loved  and 
cherished  in  his  inmost  heart,  from  associations  and  attach- 
ments of  a  lifetime,  and  to  enter  alone  an  unknown  country, 
and  a  spiritual  existence  which  is  to  continue  forever.  At 
such  a  time,  with  body  and  mind  enfeebled  by  disease  and 
suffering,  the  consolations  of  religion  are  especially  needful. 
At  such  a  time,  doubts,  fears,  and  distractions  are  apt  to  take 
possession  of  the  mind,  and  to  divert  it  from  those  holy  aspi- 
rations, and  that  abiding  faith,  which  every  Christian  should 
have  in  the  hour  of  death. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  God  in  His  great  mercy  has  insti- 
tuted "  the  sacrament  for  the  dying,"  and  inspired  St.  James 
to  declare  to  us  the  mode  of  performing  it  in  the  passage 
first  quoted.  How  merciful  in  the  infinite  Creator  to  remem- 
ber us  in  our  physical  and  mental  weaknesses,  and  to  author- 
izre  "  the  priests  of  the  Church  to  be  brought  in  when  we 
are  grievously  sick,  to  pray  for  us,  and  to  anoint  us  with  oil 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord  "  !  That  these  prayers,  these  anoint- 
ings, and  these  acts  of  faith  and  devotion  on  the  part  of  the 
piiests  are  efficacious  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  sick, 
and  sometimes  also  for  their  physical  restoration,  who  can 
doubt  ?  When  we  reflect  upon  the  numerous  marvellous 
conversions  and  cures  efiected  by  Jesus  and  His  disciples 
through  faith,  prayers,  and  anointings,  we  may  readily  un- 
derstand how  the  faith,  the  prayers,  aud  the  anointings  of 


EXTREME    UNCTION.  109 

the  priests  of  the  Church  may  still  redound  to  the  spiritual 
and  bodily  benefit  of  the  sick  and  dying. 

The  fitliers  of  Trent  teach  that  in  this,  as  well  as  in  all  of 
the  other  sacraments,  the  priests  of  the  Church  are  merely  the 
representatives  and  agents  of  Christ  on  earth;  and  in  obey- 
ing these  commands,  that  they  bring  down  the  direct  and 
special  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  bless  and  sustain  the 
true  believer.  And  our  own  hearts  w^ill  tell  us  that  the  in- 
fluences thus  evoked  cannot  be  otherwise  than  good. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

DOCTRINES   TAUGHT   BY   JESUS  CHRIST. 


The  Ten  Commandments, 

From  tlie  midst  of  tlie  fires  of  Sinai  God  delivered  the 
Ten  Commandments  to  Moses  and  his  people.  In  them  He 
forbids  falsehood,  slander,  avarice,  covetoiisness,  theft,  mur- 
der, licentiousness,  Sabbath-breaking,  idolatry,  taking  God's 
name  in  vain,  and  disrespect  to  parents,  as  heinous  sins 
against  God  and  man.  By  the  direct  interposition  of  the 
Almighty,  the  Israelites  had  been  rescued  from  Egyptian 
bondage,  through  a  series  of  miracles,  like  the  changing  of 
rods  into  serpents,  rivers  into  blood,  and  the  other  plagues  of 
Egypt.  In  pillars  of  cloud  and  fire,  God  had  conducted  them 
to  the  Red  Sea,  pursued  by  Pharaoh  and  his  inimical  hosts, 
had  separated  the  waters  so  that  they  could  pass  over  on  dry 
land,  and  afterward  overwhelmed  the  pursuing  Egyptians. 
On  arriving  at  the  foot  of  Sinai,  where  they  had  been  mirac- 
ulously led,  God  vouchsafed  to  speak  to  them  His  divine 
commandments,  so  that  their  moral,  social,  and  religious  con- 
dition might  be  elevated,  and  themselves  rendered  better 
and  happier.  For  a  time  these  positive  commands  were 
heeded;  but,  ere  long,  superstition  and  the  desires  of  the 
flesh  turned  the  peo23le  of  Israel  to  strange  gods  and  strange 
practices.     Often  did  they  forget  their  sacred  laws,  and  lapse 


THE   TEN   COMMANDMENTS.  Ill 

into  idolatry;  and  repeatedly  were  they  brouglit  back  again 
by  Moses  and  other  prophets.  After  the  lapse  of  many  cen- 
turies, at  the  period  of  the  birth  of  Christ,  there  were  but 
few  of  the  descendants  of  Abraham  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
who  held  and  practised  the  commandments  and  the  laws  as 
they  had  been  delivered  to  Moses.  Nearly  the  entire  civil- 
ized world  had  fallen  into  paganism,  materialism,  polythe- 
ism, or  absolute  skepticism. 

Under  such  circumstances,  God  became  incarnate  in 
Christ  on  earth,  in  order  to  give  to  mankind  a  new  dis- 
pensation, to  show  them  the  true  God,  the  Trinity,  the 
nature  and  destiny  of  the  human  soul,  and,  among  other 
duties  and  injunctions,  to  reassert  the  perpetual  obligation  of 
the  Ten  Commandments.  St.  Paul  and  other  apostles  like- 
vase  enumerate  these  commandments  as  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  a  Christian  life.  By  themselves,  they  constitute  an 
excellent  moral  and  social  code ;  and,  in  a  worldly  point  of 
view,  are  most  admirably  adapted  to  the  wants  and  require- 
ments of  society.  They  inculcate  supreme  respect  and  love 
of  God,  and  a  just  regard  for  all  the  rights  of  men.  To  those 
who  obey  these  commandments,  the  answer  of  our  Saviour 
to  the  questioning  Scribe  is  not  inai^propriate:  "Thou  art 
not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  A  sublime  condensa- 
tion of  these  Ten  Commandments  may  be  found  in  the  reply 
of  Jesus  to  the  Scribe,  who  had  asked  Ilim  "  Which  is  the 
iirst  commandment  of  all?"  "The  first  of  all  the  command- 
ments is,  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord :  and  thou  shalt  love 
tlie  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  vv^ith  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind,  and  with  all  thy  strength:  this  is  the 
first  commandment.  And  the  second  is  lilce^  namely  this. 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  There  is  none 
other  commandment  greater  than  these."  *  "  On  these  two 
commandments,"  He  says  in  Matthew,  "  hang  all  the  law  and 
the  prophets."  "  Therefore,"  He  says  in  another  i^lace,  "  all 
things   wdiatsoever  ye  would   that   men  should  do  to  you, 

*  Mark  xii.  30,  31. 


112  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

do  you  even  so  to  them :  for  tliis  is  the  law  and  the  j^i'oph- 
ets."  * 

These  Ten  Commandments  constitute  one  of  the  four  fuu- 
damental  divisions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  we 
call  attention  to  them  in  this  connection  as  an  essential  por- 
tion of  the  Christian  system. 

*  Matt.  Tii.  12. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

DOCTllINES  TAUGHT   BY  JESUS  CHRIST. 


The  Lord'' 8  Prayer. 

AaiONG  the  blessed  gifts  bestowed  by  our  Redeemer 
upon  mankind  was  a  model  prayer.  This  is  another  of  the 
four  fundamental  divisions  of  the  Catholic  Church.  For 
sublimity,  comprehensiveness,  and  pertinence  to  the  spir- 
itual and  social  wants  of  men,  this  prayer  has  no  paral- 
lel. It  is  adapted  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men, 
directing  them  properly  with  regard  to  their  conceptions 
of  God,  their  duties  toward  their  fellow-men,  and  their 
personal  requirements.  Such  a  gift  was  peculiarly  appro- 
priate ;  for  everywhere  Christ  found  the  high-priests  and 
doctors  of  the  synagogues  and  temples  overwhelmed  with 
superstition  and  idolatry.  Their  conceptions  of  God,  and  of 
the  soul,  were  purely  ^pantheistic  and  material ;  and  their 
worship  consisted  of  imposing  displays,  of  absurd  ceremonies, 
accompanied  by  repetitions  of  vain  words,  tending  to  per- 
vert and  debase  the  minds  of  those  who  saw  and  heard 
them.  He  found  the  higher  classes  endowed  with  consider- 
able literary  culture,  and  more  or  less  proficient  in  matters 
of  art  and  science ;  but  material,  sensual,  and  superstitious. 
He  saw  the  common  pcoj^le  ignorant,  degraded,  and  either 
skeptical,  or  visionary,  or  worshippers  of  false  gods.     Vast 


114  CHPvISTlANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

numbers  had  not  sufficient  knowledofe  to  enable  them 
to  indite  and  offer  up  an  intelligent  prayer  to  God;  and 
all  were  so  imbued  with  superstitions,  that,  without  some 
definite  and  fixed  fi^rm  of  prayer,  pantheislic  materialism 
w^ould,  in  all  probability,  have  perverted  and  corrupted  the 
worship  of  the  true  God  among  the  newly-converted  Chris- 
tians. 

To  obviate  this  danger,  and  to  enable  these  perverted 
human  elements  to  make  their  daily  addresses  properly  and 
understandingly  to  the  throne  of  the  Most  High,  Christ  pre- 
sented them  with  a  short  and  comprehensive  prayer,  through 
which  they  could  daily  recognize  and  apj)reciate  the  one  ]3er- 
sonal  God  the  Father,  and  ask  of  Him  those  things  which 
were  requisite  for  their  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare.  In 
every  act  of  devotion  they  aj)pealed  to  the  one  Infinite  Crea_ 
tor  and  Father  for  guidance  and  protection,  and  recognized 
the  duties  of  charity,  forgiveness,  and  a  virtuous  life. 

Like  all  other  acts  of  Christ  on  earth,  this  divine  gift  to 
mankind  indicated  supreme  wisdom  and  beneficence.  It  is  a 
per2)etual  legacy  entailed  upon  the  whole  Avorld,  with  a  view 
of  holding  it  to  a  knowledge  of  God,  and  of  j^reventing  any 
future  lapse  into  idolatry.  It  is  a  daily  reassertion  by  all  of 
the  faithful,  that  our  heavenly  Father  rules  over  all  things 
in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  that  all  blessings  are  derived  only 
from  Him.  For  eighteen  hundred  years  this  prayer  has  daily 
and  hourly  ascended  from  millions  of  devout  lips,  to  the  Infi- 
nite Fountain  of  mercy  in  heaven,  in  the  same  words  as  Christ 
first  uttered  them  to  His  disciples.  This  is  one  of  the  few 
diA^ine  legacies  which  has  escaped  sacrilegious  desecration  at 
the  hands  of  modern  protesters. 

Christ  adapted  His  teachings  to  all  men  and  to  all  gener- 
ations. He  encompasses  the  entire  religious,  moral,  intel- 
lectual, and  social  spheres  of  life,  and  displays  every  thing 
pertaining  to  truth,  goodness,  virtue,  love,  benevolence, 
mercy,  and  happiness.  Although  He  was  God,  endow^ed 
with  infinite  poAver,  He  came  among  men  clothed  with  a 
human  form,  sharing  their  dangers,  privations,  and  pains, 


THE   LOKDS   PEAYER.  115 

aiixl  quietly  communicated  to  them  His  divine  rules  and  in- 
structions. He  gave  nothing  which  was  useless  or  super- 
fluous, nothing  except  what  was  to  exist  unchanged  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  Human  maxims  and  human  laws  are  ever 
subject  to  change  and  decay.  One  generation  pulls  down 
and  destroys  what  another  has  reared ;  but  the  doctrines  of 
Christ  are  immutable,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  every  mortal 
want. 

IS'ot withstanding  His  omnipotence,  Christ  was  ever  con- 
descending, moderate,  merciful,  and  consistent  in  the  mission 
He  had  undertaken.  He  came  not  only  to  teach  men  their 
duties,  but  to  afford  them  a  perfect  example  of  what  He  in- 
culcated. Therefore  we  find  Him  submitting  to  insults, 
dangers,  privations,  and  finally  tortures  and  an  ignominious 
death,  wlien,  by  a  single  effort  of  His  mighty  will.  He  could 
have  surrounded  Himself  with  legions  of  destroying  angels, 
who  could  instantly  have  ground  His  enemies  to  powder. 
But  His  mission  to  earth  was  not  for  the  display  of  omnipo- 
tent power,  but  to  present  words  of  eternal  truth,  an  exam- 
ple of  perfect  human  life,  and  then  to  suffer  and  die  as  an 
atonement  for  the  sins  of  men. 

The  precepts  and  example  of  Christ  were  repugnant  to 
nearly  all  of  the  subjects  of  Augustus  and  Tiberius  Ctesar. 
They  were  in  direct  opi)osition  to  their  philosophies,  morals, 
habits,  and  customs.  They  imposed  stern  prohibitions  against 
their  sensual  immoralities,  idolatry,  cruelties,  and  injustice 
toward  their  fellow-creatures.  Notwithstanding  which,  they 
have  victoriously  withstood  the  rude  shocks  of  more  than 
eighteen  hundred  years.  If  at  times  they  have  been  trampled 
under  foot  by  persecuting  emperors  like  ISTero  and  Domitian, 
or  invading  hordes  of  Goths,  Yandals,  Huns,  Saracens,  and 
other  enemies,  they  have  always  risen  again  with  renewed 
strength  and  beauty,  guarded  and  preserved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.  As  the  Lamb  of  God,  singly  and  unaided,  first  made 
them  known  to  men,  so  do  tliey  exist  now  in  His  Holy  Church. 
Can  we  conceive  a  greater  miracle  than  tliis  ?  Could  any 
mere  human  agency  have  accomplished  this  ?     Tlie  folloAving 


116  CHRISTIiUiaTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

observations  from  a   recent  English  work  entitled   "  Ecce 
Homo,"  are  pertinent  to  this  subject : 

"  This  temj^erance  in  the  use  of  supernatural  power  is  the 
masterpiece  of  Christ.  It  is  a  moral  miracle  superinduced 
uj)on  a  physical  one.  This  repose  in  greatness  makes  Him 
surely  the  most  sublime  image  ever  offered  to  the  human  im- 
agination. And  it  is  precisely  this  trait  which  gave  Him  His 
immense  and  immediate  ascendency  over  men.  If  the  ques- 
tion be  put — Why  was  Christ  so  successful?  Why  did  men 
gather  round  Him  at  His  call,  form  themselves  into  a  new  so- 
ciety according  to  His  wish,  and  accept  Him  with  unbounded 
devotion  as  their  legislator  and  judge?  some  will  answer, 
'Because  of  the  miracles  which  attested  His  divine  char- 
acter;' others,  '  Because  of  the  intrinsic  beauty  and  divinity 
of  the  great  law  of  love  which  He  propounded.'  But  mira- 
cles, as  we  have  seen,  have  not  by  themselves  this  jDersuasivc 
power.  That  a  man  possesses  a  strange  power  which  I  cannot 
understand  is  no  reason  why  I  should  receive  his  words  as 
divine  oracles  of  truth.  The  powerful  man  is  not  of  necessity 
also  wise ;  his  power  may  terrify,  but  not  convince.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  law  of  love,  however  divine,  was  but  a  pre- 
cept. Undoubtedly  it  deserved  that  men  should  accept  it  for 
its  intrinsic  worth,  but  men  are  not  commonly  so  eager  to 
receive  the  words  of  wise  men  nor  so  unbounded  in  their 
gratitude  to  them.  It  was  neither  for  His  miracles  nor  for 
the  beauty  of  His  doctrines  that  Christ  was  worshipped. 
Nor  was  it  for  His  winning  personal  character,  nor  for  the 
persecutions  He  endured,  nor  for  His  martyrdom.  It  was  for 
the  inimitable  unity  which  all  these  things  made  when  taken 
together.  In  other  word?,  it  was  for  this,  that  He  whose 
power  and  greatness  as  shown  in  His  miracles  were  over- 
whelming, denied  Himself  the  use  of  His  power,  treated  it  as 
a  slight  thing,  walked  among  men  as  though  He  were  one  of 
them,  relieved  them  in  distress,  taught  them  to  love  each 
other,  bore  with  undisturbed  patience  a  perpetual  hailstorm 
of  calumny ;  and  when  His  enemies  grew  fiercer,  continued 
Btill  to  endure  their  attacks  in  silence,  until,  petrified  and  be- 


THE    LOKD's    PKAYEH.  117 

wilclered  with  astonishment,  men  saw  Him  arrested  and  put 
to  deatli  with  torture,  refusing  steadfastly  to  use  in  His  own 
behalf  the  power  He  conceived  He  held  for  the  benefit  of 
others.  It  was  the  combination  of  greatness  and  self-sacrifice 
which  won  their  hearts,  the  mighty  powers  held  under  a 
mighty  control,  the  unspeakable  condescension,  the  Cross  of 
Christ.  By  this,  and  by  nothing  else,  the  enthusiasm  of  a 
Paul  was  kindled.  The  statement  rests  on  no  hypothesis  or 
conjecture ;  his  epistles  bear  testimony  to  it  throughout. 
The  trait  in  Christ  which  filled  his  whole  mind  was  His  con- 
descension. The  charm  of  that  condescension  lay  in  its  being 
voluntary.  The  cross  of  Christ,  of  which  Paul  so  often 
speaks  as  the  only  thing  he  found  worth  glorying  in,  as  that 
in  comparison  with  which  every  thing  in  the  world  was  as 
diing^  was  the  voluntary  submission  to  death  of  One  Avho  had 
the  j^ower  to  escape  death ;  this  he  says  in  express  words. 
And  what  Paul  constantly  repeats  in  impassioned  language, 
the  other  apostles  echo.  Christ's  voluntary  surrender  of 
power  is  their  favorite  subject,  the  humiliation  implied  in  His 
whole  life  and  crowned  by  His  death."  * 

*  "  Ecce  Ilomo,"  page  55. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CHURCH  FOUNDED  BY  CHRIST  AND  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH 

IDENTICAL. 

A  CKiTicAL  examination  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  of  the 
autborized  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Churcli,  will  demonstrate 
conclusively  that  the  latter  is  a  continuation  and  perjDctuation 
of  the  Church  established  by  Jesus  Christ.  Precisely  the 
same  doctrines,  the  same  ordinances,  and  the  same  ecclesi- 
.astical  organization  which  were  established  by  Jesus  and  His 
inspired  apostles  still  exist  in  the  Catholic  Church.  From 
generation  to  generation  her  holy  fathers  have  preserved  all 
of  these  sacred  truths  inviolate. 

As  Christ  taught  the  necessity  of  faith  in  God,  in  the 
Trinity,  and  in  His  own  teachings,  so  does  the  Catholic 
Church  believe  and  teach. 

As  the  Saviour,  by  His  words  and  examj^le,  inculcated 
the  necessity  of  baptism  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and 
Holy  Ghost,  so  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  and  practise. 

As  Jesus  continually  dwelt  upon  the  necessity  of  repent- 
ance, confession,  and  reformation,  so  does  the  Catholic  Church 
constantly  insist  upon  an  observance  of  the  same  duties. 

As  Christ  confirmed  the  laith  and  resolution  of  His  apos- 
tles by  infusing  into  them  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  a  special 
ceremony  (breathing  upon  them) ;  and  as  the  apostles  con- 
firmed their  recent  converts  by  calling  down  upon  t]iem  tlie 


THE   CnUKCIl    FOUNDED    BY    CHRIST,    ETC.  110 

same  Holy  Spirit,  througli  the  laying  on  of  bands,  so  does  the 
Church  confirm  her  converts  by  imitating  their  example. 

As  Jesus  instituted  a  holy  commemorative  supper,  and 
commanded  that  it  should  be  perpetuated,  promising  to  be 
miraculously  present  whenever  the  sacrament  should  be 
worthily  celebrated,  the  Catholic  Church  literally  believes 
and  obeys  this  divine  commandment. 

As  Christ  appointed,  ordained,  and  sanctified  His  apostles 
as  His  organized  ministers  to  preach  His  holy  truths,  and  to 
confess,  baptize,  confirm,  minister  to,  and  ordain  other  faith- 
ful men,  and  as  the  apostles  in  like  manner  appointed,  or- 
dained, and  organized  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons,  to  teach 
and  practise  the  same  things,  directing  them  to  continue  on 
in  the  same  course  toward  still  other  faithful  men,  so  does 
the  Catholic  Church  appoint,  ordain,  and  organize  her  sacer- 
dotal ofiicers  to  perpetuate  the  same  doctrines  and  ob- 
servances. 

As  the  Kedeemer  reo;arded  marriao'e  as  a  sacred  oblis^a- 
tion,  npon  a  due  recognition  of  which  the  welfare  of  society 
depends.  He  conferred  upon  it  the  dignity  of  a  sacrament : 
and  the  Church  has  ever  acknowledged  the  sacredness  of  the 
institution. 

As  the  apostle  gave  a  general  command  in  cases  of  sick- 
ness, that  "  the  priests  of  the  Church  shall  be  called  in  to 
pray  over  the  sick  person,  and  to  anoint  him  with  oil,"  with 
a  view  of  calling  down  upon  him  especial  blessings,  so  does 
the  Church  still  call  in  its  priests  to  the  sick,  to  pray  over 
them,  to  anoint  them,  and  to  invoke  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  at  the  hour  of  death. 

Christ  reasserted  the  ten  commandments  as  an  obligatory 
practical  code  for  all  Christians :  the  Church  accepts  the 
divine  code  and  requires  obedience  to  its  injunctions. 

Christ  demands  of  men  supreme  love  of  God,  and  fraternal 
love  of  their  fellow-creatures :  the  Church  inculcates  the  same 
duties  as  fundamental  elements  of  Cliristianity. 

Christ  presented  to  mankind  a  model  prayer,  and  com- 
manded that  it  should  be  employed  in  their  acts  of  devotion  : 


120  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

the  Churcli  has  sacredly  preserved  it,  and  ever  employs  it  in 
her  worship. 

When  Christ  vras  on  earth  He  founded  His  Church — a 
Church  with  "  one  Lord,  one  faith,  and  one  baptism : "  He 
formed  His  ajDOStles  into  an  ecclesiastical  organization  to  pre- 
side over  this  Church,  to  preach  its  doctrines  to  all  nations, 
and  to  perpetuate  it  through  their  successors  to  the  end  of 
the  world.  He  told  them  that  He  sent  them  as  lambs  among 
wolves,  and  that  they  should  suffer  all  sorts  of  persecutions 
for  His  sake ;  but  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  go  with  them 
to  prompt  and  encourage  them  in  their  labors.  He  assured 
them  that  He  had  established  the  Church  not  for  a  day,  or 
for  a  generation,  but  for  all  time  and  for  all  generations,  and 
that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it.  In  due 
time  Christ  ascended  to  heaven,  the  apostles  dispersed  them- 
selves among  the  nations  as  they  had  been  commanded, 
preached  the  truths  they  had  received  from  the  lips  of  Christ, 
baptized,  confessed,  and  confirmed  their  converts,  ordained 
pastors  in  many  places,  and  then  died.  But  the  Church,  with 
her  divinely-endowed  precepts  and  discipline,  did  not  die,  for 
they  were  encircled  by  the  protecting  arms  of  the  Almighty. 

The  successors  of  the  apostles  continued  to  teach  and  to 
practise  the  same  precepts  and  observances  which  they  liad 
received  from  the  imm.ediate  ministers  of  Christ,  which  they 
had  received  from  Christ  Himself,  and  which  He  had  received 
from  the  Father  in  heaven. 

After  three  hundred  years,  when  the  Emperor  Constantine 
nllowed  the  Christians  to  come  forth  to  the  light  of  day,  they 
presented  themselves  a  power  in  the  empire,  and  the  Church 
emerged  from  her  subterranean  sanctuaries  a  thoroughly  en- 
dowed ecclesiastical  organization  of  ministers,  sacraments, 
and  forms  of  worship.  She  also  brought  up  in  their  original 
})urity  and  truthfulness  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  traditions 
which  had  been  confided  to  her  by  Christ  and  His  apostles. 
During  these  first  three  centuries  nearly  every  pope,  and  multi- 
tudes of  priests  and  disciples  of  tlie  Church,  had  been  martyred. 
Chief  amono'  these  Christian  heroes  were  Saints  Peter,  Paul, 


THE  cnuEcn  founded  by  chkist,  etc.     121 

Clement  of  Rome,  Polycarp,  Ignatius,  Iren?eus,  and  EuseMus. 
In  these  bloody  centuries  the  Church  Avas  visible  in  the  per- 
secutions and  martrydoms  of  her  children,  by  the  emissaries 
of  Nero,  Domitian,  Trajan,  Adrian,  Aurelius,  Coramodus, 
Severus,  Septimus  Sevcrus,  Maximin,  Decius,  Valerian,  Au- 
relian,  and  Diocletian.  Of  all  these  persecuting  emperors 
Nero  vras  the  most  vindictive  against  the  Christians.  In  his 
own  person  he  combined  all  of  the  bad  traits  of  his  three 
predecessors.  They  committed  acts  of  tyranny  for  purposes 
of  plunder,  revenge,  sensual  gratification,  or  to  please  a  mis- 
tress, or  a  court  favorite ;  but  Nero  perpetrated  his  horrible 
atrocities  from  mere  wantonness,  without  cause  or  pretext. 
A  diabolical  spirit  appeared  to  animate  him,  and  to  prompt 
him  continually  in  the  performance  of  those  cruel  deeds  which 
tilled  the  world  with  wretchedness.  As  his  demon-soul  re- 
volted against  every  thing  good,  it  was  natural  that  his  fero- 
city should  have  been  especially  directed  toward  the  recent 
converts  to  Christianity.  Therefore  every  effort  which  ma- 
levolence and  cunning  ingenuity  could  devise,  was  made  to 
capture,  insult,  rob,  torture,  and  destroy  the  unoffending 
Christians  of  his  dominions.  They  were  pursued  to  their 
most  secret  hiding-places,  and  when  caught  were  often  cast 
into  the  amphitlieatre  to  be  mangled  and  devoured  by  wild 
beasts,  or  into  the  gladiatorial  arena  to  receive  their  death- 
wounds  from  the  trained  gladiators  and  murderers  who  were 
employed  in  these  cruel  sports.  Neither  age  nor  sex  escaped 
the  ferocity  of  this  human  monster.  To  hear  the  screams,  and 
to  V,  itness  the  contortions  and  agonies  of  delicate  Christian 
females  and  children  wdiile  being  torn  and  devoured  by  the 
hungry  lions  and  tigers  of  the  amphitheatre,  was  a  pastime 
for  this  persecuting  pagan.  To  know  that  a  human  being, 
particularly  a  Christian,  was  wretched,  was  ecstasy  to  him ; 
and  to  see  his  blood,  his  writhings  of  anguish,  and  to  hear  liis 
frantic  cries  of  fear  and  pain,  afforded  him  extreme  pleasure. 
Such  was  Nero,  and  such  was  the  general  character  of  the 
persecutions  to  w^hich  the  early  Christians  were  subjected. 
In  spite  of  all  these  persecutions  the  Church  existed,  her 
6 


122  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

organization  was  secretly  kept  up,  licr  discipline  was  main- 
tained, and  her  worship  was  duly  although  secretly  per- 
formed. If  it  be  asked,  then,  where  was  the  Church  during 
the  first  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  era?  we  answer, 
in  her  subterranean  hiding-places,  with  her  secret  ecclesiasti- 
cal organization,  and  her  secret  though  regular  worship. 

Where  was  this  Church  when  Constantine  issued  his  de- 
crees of  toleration,  more  than  three  hundred  years  after  the 
ascension  of  the  Saviour?  We  find  it  at  the  Councils  of 
Aries  (a.  d.  314),  of  Nice  (a.  d.  325),  of  Sardica  (a.  d.  347), 
and  at  other  councils  which  were  convened  to  watch  over 
and  defend  the  integrity  and  purity  of  her  divine  doctrines 
and  rites.  We  also  find  it  in  the  numerous  churclies  Avhich 
were  everywhere  being  erected,  and  in  the  Catholic  worship 
and  discipline  which  were  now  publicly  establislied. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  in  the  history  of 
Christianity  was  the  accession  of  Constantine  to  the  imi^erial 
throne,  A.  t>.  306.  He  was  a  great  statesman,  a  great  general, 
and  a  man  of  such  mental  calibre  that  he  was  able  to  discern 
the  truth,  and  the  vast  superiority  of  the  Christian  religion 
over  the  supei'stitions  of  paganism.  Conviction  of  a  truth, 
implied  with  him  a  prompt  practical  aj)plication  of  it  for  the 
benefit  of  his  people.  In  reviewing  the  career  of  this  gi'cat 
man,  and  in  scrutinizing  his  opinions,  motives,  and  acts,  it  is 
but  fiiir  that  we  consider  the  epoch  in  which  he  lived,  the 
prevalent  philosophies  and  religious  beliefs,  the  influence  of 
early  example  and  education,  and  the  moral  courage  neces- 
sary to  break  away  from  an  hereditary  and  universally  re- 
ceived religious  creed,  and  to  adopt  a  new  and  unpoj^alar 
one.  Up  to  the  time  of  this  emperor,  every  Roman  ruler 
had  been  a  pagan,  a  Platonist,  a  Stoic,  a  Sophist,  or  an  Epi- 
curean ;  and  nearly  every  Latin  subject  of  the  Roman  domin- 
ions kept  his  household  gods,  worshipped  in  pagan  temples, 
and  offered  sacrifices  to  his  heathen  deities.  The  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  peoi^le  was  confided  to  the  various  gods  whom 
their  fathers  for  many  generations  had  taught  them  to  re- 
gard as  supreme  arbiters  of  the  destinies  of  men  and  nations. 


THE  CnUKCH  FOUNDED  BY  CHRIST,  ETC.       123 

The  few  scattered  converts  to  Christianit}^  were  poor,  de- 
spised, hated,  and  persecuted.  In  the  cities  and  towns 
thousands  of  their  brethren  had  been  martyred,  while  the 
more  timid  fled  to  the  deserts  and  mountains  to  escape  joerse- 
cution  and  death.  From  the  midst  of  such  a  people,  and 
such  a  civilization,  Constantine  appeared,  and  boldly  raised 
aloft  the  sacred  banner  of  the  cross,  gaye  full  protection  to 
Christians,  destroyed  the  heathen  temples,  and  erected  in 
their  places  Christian  churches  (basilica),  and,  for  the  first 
time  since  the  days  of  Christ,  permitted  the  Christians  to 
come  out  from  their  hiding-places  and  worship  the  true  God 
openly  and  fearlessly.  A  moral  courage  like  this,  which  de- 
fied public  opinion,  innovated  upon  the  habits  and  customs 
of  his  subjects,  rescued  from  obscurity  and  concealment  the 
sacred  doctrines,  and  the  converts  of  Christianity,  and  con- 
tributed so  materially  in  making  the  Church  of  Christ  more 
visible  and  more  universal,  marks  an  era  in  human  progress, 
and  stamps  its  author  with  greatness  and  glory. 

But/strange  as  it  may  seem,  men*  have  lived,  and  still 
live,  who  have  dared  to  brand  this  great  emperor  as  a  hypo- 
crite, a  libertine,  a  murderei*,  a  demagogue,  a  heretic,  and  a 
sanguinary  heathen  at  heart !  In  order  to  cast  opprobrium 
upon  those  enrly  Catholic  Christians,  who  have  preserved 
for  them  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  who  j^resided  over  the 
only  visible  Church  during  tlie  early  ages,  modern  innovators 
pervert  the  facts  of  history  to  blacken  the  reputation  of  a 
Christian  benefactor  like  Constantine !  God  help  these  ca- 
lumniators, and  endoAV  them  with  more  truthfulness  and 
charity,  y 

Where  was  the  one  Cliurch  of  Christ  in  the  fifth  century, 
when  Europe  was  successively  invaded  and  devastated  by 
Aharic  the  Goth,  Attila  the  Hun,  and  Genseric  the  Vandal; 
when  cities,  towns,  churches,  mouasteries,  libraries,  and 
manuscripts  were  everywhere  consumed,  when  Christians 
were  hunted  down  and  enslaved,  or  killed  lil:e  wild  beasts; 
when  Italy,  Gaul,  Britain,  Spain,  Greece,  and  other  portions 

*  Gibbon,  White,  and  otbcr  histoiians. 


124  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

of  the  Roman  einpire  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  Goths, 
Vandals,  Huns,  Franks,  Saxons,  Alans,  and  other  barbarous 
hordes?  During  these  turbulent  epochs,  where  was  the 
priesthood,  and  where  the  Holy  Scriptures?  While  the 
aged,  the  weak,  and  the  timid  fled  to  the  wildernesses,  the 
deserts,  the  mountains,  and  the  caves  of  the  earth,  the  Chris- 
tian priests  were  ever  in  the  field  with  their  lay-brethren, 
aiding:  in  the  contest  aorainst  the  barbarian  invaders — not 
with  sword,  lance,  and  pike,  but  with  the  spiritual  weapons 
of  Christian  love  and  truth.  The  S23iritual  contest  was  ear- 
nest and  persistent,  but  victory  eventually  remained  with 
the  Christians ;  and  entire  nations  of  idolaters  were  perma- 
nently added  to  the  Church,  the  nuclei  of  future  powerful 
kingdoms,  and  of  advanced  states  of  civilization.  God,  in 
His  providence,  permitted  these  wild  hordes  of  the  ISTorth  to 
scourge  with  fire  and  sword  the  degenerate  and  depraved 
subjects  of  the  Roman  dominions,  and  to  seize  uj^on  their 
vast  possessions ;  but  He  likewise  permitted  His  holy  Church 
to  subjugate  the  conquerors  themselves,  and  to  bring  them 
under  the  gentle  yoke  of  the  Redeemer.  After  this  period, 
strange-sounding  and  barbaric  names  figure  among  the  pre- 
lates of  the  Church.  The  Christian  priests  of  these  bloody 
epochs  worshipped  God  as  the  apostles  and  their  immediate 
successors  had  worshipped  Him  under  the  first  jDersecuting 
emperors;  and  the  monks  continued  to  transcribe  and  trans- 
mit the  Holy  Scriptures  and  traditions  of  the  Church,  as 
they  had  before  done  in  the  catacombs  of  Rome.  During 
these  centuries  of  barbarian  rule,  tens  of  thousands  of  Catholic 
priests  and  monks  were  scattered  over  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa,  preaching  and  practising  the  doctrines  of  Christ, 
copying  the  holy  records,  and  preserving  them  as  the  apples 
of  their  eyes.  Had  there  been  no  Roman  Church,  with  her 
organized  hierarchy,  in  the  midst  of  these  dark  ages,  to  copy, 
conceal,  and  transmit  the  sacred  records  which  Christ  gave 
to  man,  the  world  would  now  have  been  Avithout  a  Bible  or 
a  Christian  religion.  Nearly  all  candid  Protestant  writers 
admit  that  there  was  but  one  Church  and  one  ecclesiastical 


THE  CHURCH  FOUNDED  BY  CHRIST,  ETC.       125 

corporation,  and  tlmt  one  the  Catholic,  during  these  first  cen- 
turies. Thus  White  writes :  "  AYhile  it  is  absurd,  therefore, 
in  those  disastrous  times  of  weakness  and  persecution  to 
talk  in  pompous  terms  of  the  succession  of  the  Bishops  of 
Home,  and  make  out  vain  catalogues  of  lordly  prelates  who 
sat  on  the  throne  of  St.  Peter,  it  is  incontestable  that,  from 
the  earliest  period,  the  Christian  converts  held  their  meet- 
ings— by  stealth,  indeed,  and  under  fear  of  detection — and 
obeyed  certain  canons  of  their  own  constitution.  These  se- 
cret associations  spread  their  ramifications  into  every  great 
city  of  the  empire."  * 

We  may  behold  where  the  Roman  Church  was  when  the 
fierce  Hunnish  chief,  Attila,  after  having  devastated  all  Eu- 
rope, had  arrived  in  front  of  the  gates  of  Rome  with  his  half 
million  of  barbarian  warriors,  and  demanded  an  uncondition- 
al surrender.  Rome  had  already  been  once  sacked  and  de- 
stroyed, and  a  large  portion  of  Italy  had  been  devastated,  by 
Alaric  the  Goth.  Nearly  all  of  the  wild  tribes  beyond  the 
confines  of  the  Roman  empire  had  united  with  his  army  of 
Goths;  all  were  hostile  to  Rome,  and  all  were  bent  on  plun- 
der and  territorial  possession.  Early  in  this  century,  Gaul, 
Britain,  and  Spain  seceded  from  the  Roman  empire,  and 
formed  themselves  into  independent  sovereignties.  Later, 
Sicily,  Corsica,  and  Sardinia,  united  to  form  a  single  king- 
dom. These  successful  secessions  served  to  embolden  other 
disaffected  j^rovinccs,  and  to  shake  seriously  the  stability  of 
the  empire.  There  was  not  a  single  great  statesman  or  gen- 
eral in  all  Rome  when,  in  a.  d.  441,  the  terrible  Attila,  the 
"  Scourge  of  God,"  flushed  with  numerous  victories  recently 
achieved  in  Asia  and  Africa,  made  his  irruption  into  Europe. 
For  long  years,  the  barbarian  conqueror  and  his  fierce  sol- 
diers, from  their  wild  steppes  and  deserts,  had  cast  their  eyes 
in  the  direction  of  the  mistress  of  the  world  and  her  exhaust- 
less  wealth.  In  their  waking  and  sleeping  dreams,  the  vi- 
sion of  this  great  centre  of  power^'learning,  and  riches,  had 
been  constantly  before   them.      For    centuries  the  Roman 

*  "Eighteen  Christian  Centuries,"  p.  '77. 


126  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

legions  had  not  only  held  the  civilized  nations  in  subjection, 
but  they  had  kept  the  wild  tribes  of  the  outer  world  strictly 
confined  within  their  native  forests  and  fastnesses.  Tradi- 
tion had  pictured  to  these  savages  the  fabulous  productions 
of  the  Koman  territories — the  gold,  silver,  precious  stones, 
and  works  of  art  which  enriched  and  adorned  her  cities, 
especially  Rome  herself,  the  great  source  and  disj^enser  of  all 
these  magnificent  accumulations,  and  an  irrepressible  desire 
of  conquest  and  possession  animated  them.  They  were  now 
at  the  goal  of  their  ambition,  with  an  overwhelming  and  in- 
vincible army.  Attila,  attired  in  the  gorgeousness  of  orien- 
tal magnificence,  and  surrounded  by  an  imposing  retinue  of 
barbarian  chiefs  and  men-at-arms,  thundered  at  the  gates  of 
the  capital,  and  demanded  its  surrender.  In  the  background 
crouched  myriads  of  ferocious-visaged  warriors,  with  lances 
poised,  and  sword  and  battle-axe  firmly  clinched,  ravenous 
for  blood  and  j^lunder,  and  panting  to  spring  upon  the  de- 
voted city.  The  most  abject  barbarism  and  the  liighest 
civilization  of  the  age  stood  face  to  face,  the  latter  at  the 
mercy  of  the  former.  In  response  to  the  dread  summons, 
the  gates  of  Home  were  opened  wide,  her  champion  walked 
forth  alone,  and  paused  not  until  he  stood  before  the  fierce 
victor  and  his  hosts.  Clothed  in  the  vestments  of  his  sacred 
office,  and  carrying  upraised  before  him  the  holy  cross,  the 
venerable  Pope  Leo  confronted  Attila.  Inspired  by  the  Ho- 
ly Spirit,  the  man  of  God  addressed  the  pagan  chief  with 
words  of  love,  charity,  fraternity :  he  spoke  of  the  merciful 
Father  of  all  mankind;  he  pointed  to  tlie  sacred  emblem 
with  wliich  he  was  armed,  recounted  the  mission  and  cruci- 
fixion of  Christ  for  all  men,  and  prayed  that  God  might  bless 
and  soften  him.  The  chieftain's  heart  was  touched,  and  his 
proud  spirit  bowed  with  awe  and  wonder  before  the  majesty 
of  the  earthly  representative  of  the  Son  of  man.  Melting 
with  charity  and  mercy,  the  victor  of  a  thousand  bloody 
fights  knelt  before  the  Aveak  old  man  and  craved  his  bless- 
ing. Kome  was  spared,  and  the  venerable  pontiff,  carrying 
before  him  the  holy  cross,  reentered  her  gates,  and  reassured 


THE   CHURCH   FOUNDED   BY   CHIIIST,    ETC.  127 


her  trembling  citizens ;  wliile  tlie  wild  cohorts  of  the  savage 
Hun  were  marshalled  on  other  and  distant  fields. 

Neither  Attila  and  his  invading  Huns,  nor  Alaric  and  his 
Goths,  nor  Genseric  and  his  Vandals,  had  any  difficulty  in 
finding  the  one  Church  which  Christ  had  left  behind  Him, 
as  their  attacks  against  churches,  monasteries,  libraries,  bish- 
ops, priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  amply  testify. 

After  this  period  we  behold  three  distinct  elements  of  civi- 
lization struggling  for  the  mastery  in  Europe :  the  old  Roman, 
the  Christian,  and  the  Barbaric.  Each  presented  a  religious, 
moral,  and  social  system,  and  urged  its  adoption.  Men  listened 
to  these  conflicting  theories,  witnessed  their  practical  results, 
and  formed  their  conclusions.  In  such  a  contest  is  it  strange 
that  Christianity  was  victorious,  and  "that  the  gates  of  hell 
could  not  prevail  against "  the  one  Catholic  Church  of  God  ? 

Under  the  emperors  all  kinds  of  physical  labor  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  slaves.  As  a  consequence,  the  useful  arts 
and  sciences  gradually  languished,  and  agriculture  became 
almost  entirely  neglected.  Instead  of  the  skilled  labor  of 
interested  and  prosperous  artisans  and  farmers,  forced  and 
unintelligent  servile  toil  was  universally  substituted.  Dis- 
grace attached  to  the  patrician,  or  to  the  free  Roman  citizen 
who  should  soil  his  dainty  hands  with  w^ork.  Even  litera- 
ture and  public  education  gradually  participated  in  the  gen- 
eral deterioration.  Schools  everywhere  diminished,  and  the 
cultivation  of  letters  everywhere  declined,  until,  with  the 
establishment  of  feudalism  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventh 
century,  general  darkness,  and  material,  intellectual,  and 
social  decay  seemed  to  brood  over  the  nations. 

During  this  dark  period,  w^as  there  no  counteracting  in- 
fluence, no  hand  to  stay  the  downward  course  of  all  that  was 
ennobling  and  useful?  In  the  churches,  monasteries,  and 
schools  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  in  the  labors  of  her 
priests  and  monks,  we  find  these  influences.  It  is  indisputa- 
ble that,  during  these  dark  centuries,  the  unaided  efforts  of 
the  priesthood  rescued  from  destruction  nearly  all  existing 
sacred  and  profane  manuscripts,  and  preserved  and  transmit- 


128  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ted  them  to  posterity;  also  that  literature  and  agriculture 
made  actual  progress  under  the  special  direction  and  patron- 
age of  the  Church.  Witness  the  vast  humanitarian  efforts 
wliich  have  constantly  been  exerted  by  the  order  of  St.  Ben- 
edict, established  in  the  sixth  century  !  Up  to  tlie  organiza- 
tion of  this  society,  manual  labor  had  been  considered  degra- 
ding to  freemen,  but  St.  Benedict  and  his  monks  changed  all 
this.  "  No  person,"  says  St.  Benedict,  "  is  ever  more  useful- 
ly employed,  than  Avhen  working  with  his  hands  or  following 
the  i^lough,  and  providing  food  for  the  use  of  men."  And  so 
the  monks  tilled  the  soil  with  their  own  hands,  followed  the 
plough,  and  gathered  in  the  harvests,  while  their  position  gave 
dignity  to  Avork.  These  men  were,  par  excellence^  the  agri- 
culturists of  Europe.  They  selected  their  lands  with  judg- 
ment, and  erected  their  monasteries  on  them,  causing  the 
deserts  to  blossom  like  the  rose,  and  creating  utility  and 
beauty  in  places  of  barrenness  and  want.  "And  at  last," 
says  White,  "  something  venerable  was  thought  to  reside  in 
the  act  of  farming  itself.  It  was  so  uniformly  found  an  ac- 
companiment of  the  priestly  character,  that  it  acquired  a 
portion  of  its  sanctity.  .  .  .  Their  lands  became  places  of 
sanctuary,  as  the  altar  of  the  Church  had  been.  Freedmen — - 
that  is,  persons  manumitted  from  slavery,  but  not  yet  en- 
dowed with  property — were  everywhere  put  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  clergy.  .  .  .  The  CJiurch  was  found  in  all  the 
kingdoms  to  be  so  useful  as  the  introducer  of  agriculture, 
and  the  preserver  of  what  learning  had  survived  the  Roman 
overthrow,  that  the  ambitious  hierarchy  profited  by  the  roy- 
al and  popular  favor.  They  were  the  most  influential,  or 
perhaps  it  would  be  more  just  to  say,  they  were  the  only 
order  in  the  state."  * 

These  are  the  sentiments  of  an  ultra  Protestant  author, 
and  they  are  true.  What  was  this  "only  order" — this  sole 
ecclesiastical  society  which  had  exerted  so  potent  an  influence 
upon  agriculture,  learning,  and  the  general  civilization  and 
progress  of  this  dark  period?     Who  were   these  Christian 

*  "Eighteen  Christiau  Centuries,"  p.  145. 


THE   CHUJKCII    FOUNDED   BY   CIIRIST,    ETC.  120 

ministers  who  were  calling  forth  the  admiration  and  grati- 
tude of  kings  and  people  for  the  great  benefits  they  were 
conferring  upon  their  fellow-creatures  ?  Surely  they  were 
not  Lutherans,  or  Calvinists,  or  Hussites,  or  Wickliffites,  or 
Wesleyans,  or  Arians ;  but  the  humble  workers  of  the  one 
holy,  Catholic,  and  visible  Church,  carrying  out  practically 
her  natural  and  legitimate  principles  of  development.  They 
were  priests  and  monks  of  the  only  organized  and  visible 
Church  on  earth,  obeying  the  commands  of  the  Pontiff  of 
Itome  ;  working  with  their  hands  to  sustain  the  bodies  of 
their  fellow-men,  and  with  their  minds  and  hearts  to  furnish 
spiritual  food  for  the  needy.  Often  during  the  middle  cen- 
turies, when  these  priestly  model  farmers  of  the  world  have 
gratuitously  sent  from  their  well-stored  granaries,  cargoes  of 
grain  to  the  distant  starving  nations,  have  they  been  recog- 
nized, not  only  as  benefactors  of  their  race,  but  as  the  special 
servants  and  ministers  of  God ;  and  yet  dissenting  innova- 
tors and  rationalists  of  the  nineteenth  century  sneer  at  them 
and  their  calling  as  useless.  That  there  have  been  bad 
monks  in  the  world  we  doubt  not ;  but  they  may  be  fairly 
considered  as  exceptions  to  the  rule.  ISTor  will  this  appear 
surprising  when  we  remember  that  for  several  of  the  first 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era,  the  monks  were  only  laymen, 
without  any  ecclesiastical  authority  or  functions.  Thus  we 
see  that  the  monks  of  the  middle  ages  by  no  means  confined 
themselves  to  the  ascetic  duties  and  austerities  of  their  mon- 
asteries and  cells,  or  to  teaching,  preaching,  worshij^ping,  or 
writing.  Wherever  God's  truths  were  to  be  announced,  or 
human  suflering  to  be  alleviated,  there  might  be  found  these 
self-sacrificing  men.  Let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  nearly  all 
of  the  converts  of  the  early  and  middle  ages  were  made  from 
2'>aganism.  ^  and  that  after  the  northern  invaders  had  taken 
possession  of  Europe,  and  established  their  kingdoms,  these 
future  converts  were  not  only  idolaters,  but  rude,  unlettered, 
and  savage  barbarians.  Many  of  these  new  converts  secured 
for  themselves  high  positions  in  the  Church.  Among  them 
were  seen  bishops,  abbots,  priests,  and  monks.  While  nearly 
6* 


loO  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

all  of  them  were  pious  and  consistent  Christians,  a  few  still 
retained  some  of  their  old  pagan  notions,  and  were  inclined 
to  deviate  from  the  rules  and  discij^line  of  the  Church.  It  was 
not  strange  that  these  men  noAV  and  then  lapsed  hack  into 
their  old  ways,  and  gave  to  the  world  bad  examples  of  a 
Christian  life.  Let  not,  then,  the  holy  doctrines  of  the  Church 
be  repudiated  because  individuals  professing  her  doctrines 
have  violated  them,  and  gone  astray.  Because  wicked  men 
have  intrigued  themselves  into  high  ecclesiastical  positions, 
and  then  sinned  apace,  let  not  the  laws  and  ordinances  of 
God  sufiel-  for  these  personal  crimes.  During  these  ages, 
continual  efforts  were  made  by  the  pontiffs,  as  well  as  through 
reformatory  councils  and  other  means,  to  reform  these  person- 
al abuses,  and  generally  w^ith  success.  But  these  reformations 
were  always  made  icltJmi  the  Church,  not  by  withdrav»"ing 
from  it,  breaking  its  unity,  and  organizing  another  and  dif" 
ferent  one. 

Men  are  prone  to  judge  of  the  past  from  the  present. 
They  fail  to  note  differences  respecting  the  knowledge,  cul- 
ture, religion,  morals,  and  general  civilization  of  different 
eras.  They  contrast  the  Europe  of  the  early  centuries,  teem- 
ing with  both  cultivate i  and  savage  idolaters,  with  the  en- 
lightened Europe  of  the  last  three  centuries,  and  sneer  at  the 
Church  because  some  of  her  pagan  converts  have  sometimes 
been  corrupt  and  sinful.  Rather  let  us  wonder  at  the  mar- 
vellous mercy  of  God,  v,^hose  divine  aid  enabled  the  Church 
to  survive  the  jDcrsecutions  and  deadly  hostility  of  a  heathen 
world,  amidst  the  wrecks  of  empires  and  kingdoms,  and  the 
invasions  of  savage  tribes  ! 

After  the  death  of  Mohammed,  a.  d.  632,  the  Saracen  inva- 
sions of  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries,  under  Abou  Beker, 
Khaled,  Omar,  Amru,  and  Abdel-malek,  were  organized. 
The  object  of  the  previous  invaders  had  been  j^lunder  and 
territorial  possessions ;  but  that  of  the  Mohammedans  was  of 
a  religious  character.  Like  the  early  Puritans  of  New  Eng- 
land in  their  contests  against  the  Indians,  they  marched  with 
tlieir  religion  in  one  hand,  and  tlieir  cimeters  in  the  other; 


THE    CIIUECII    FOUNDED    BY    CHRIST,    ETC.  131 


and  if  the  first  did  not  find  its  way  to  the  hearts  of  their  op- 
ponents, the  last  were  certain  to  do  so.  Syria,  Persia,  Jeru- 
salem, Ale23po,  Antioch,  Tyre,  Tripoli,  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Saracen,  and  Constantinople  was  several  times  besieged, 
but  the  terrible  "  Greek  fire  "  which  was  projected  upon  the 
heads  of  the  Turkish  soldiers,  repeatedly  drove  them  back. 
Later  they  penetrated  into  the  very  heart  of  Europe  with 
vast  armies  of  fiery  fanatics,  fully  bent  on  conquering  and 
convertinsc  the  world  to  the  faith  of  Islam.  Never  has  the 
fate  of  Christianity  been  so  seriously  imperilled,  as  when 
Omar,  with  his  vast  army  had  arrived  at  Tours  and  staked 
the  fate  of  his  campaign  on  the  result  of  a  single  battle.  Had 
Omar  been  successful,  all  Christendom  would  have  been  sub- 
jected to  the  Saracen,  and  darkness  would  have  shrouded 
the  coming  centuries.  But  the  Christians  appealed  to  the 
God  of  battles,  and  under  Charles  Martel  and  his  brave 
Franks,  Burgnndians,  and  other  Christian  warriors,  cheered 
on  by  Pope  Boniface  who  acted  in  perfect  accord  with  Char- 
lemagne, by  the  priests  of  the  Church,  and  the  prayers  of  the 
faithful,  accepted  the  dread  encounter.  The  faith  and  prayers 
of  the  Church  were  not  in  vain.  That  Divine  Guardian 
which  was  to  preside  over  her  forever,  hovered  over  the 
bloody  field  of  Tours  until  the  fierce  Saracen  and  his  hosts 
fled  in  dismay  and  disorder  back  from  whence  they  came  be-' 
yond  the  Pyrenees. 

The  religion  of  the  Saracen  was  of  a  higher  order  than 
that  of  the  Romans,  or  of  their  barbarian  conquerors  from  the 
l^orth.  They  believed  in  one  personal  God,  Maker  and 
Ruler  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  that  Mohammed  was  his 
inspired  prophet ;  but  they  denied  in  toto  the  divinity  of 
Jesus  Christ.  They  were  Unitarians^  and  regarded  theii* 
prophet  in  the  same  light  as  Arius  and  his  disciples  regarded 
the  Saviour.  By  nature  ardent,  sanguine,  imijulsive,  and 
warlike,  all  of  the  fiery  energies  of  their  beings  were  concen- 
trated upon  their  religion,  and  they  became  fanatics  and  in- 
vading  j^ropagandists.  Their  various  attacks  on  Europe  were 
not  so  much  for  gain  as  for  proselytism.     Their  great  chiefs 


132  CnRISTlANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

led  tlieiii  to  battle,  not  for  personal  fame,  or  glory,  or  riches, 
but  for  their  religion ;  they  went  forth  not  in  the  garbs  and 
appointments  of  oriental  splendor,  but  meanly  clad,  scantily 
fed,  and  sharing  all  of  the  privations,  dangers,  and  drudger- 
ies of  the  common  soldier.  They  hated  the  Christian  Church 
because  it  acknowledged  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  re- 
garded Mohammed  as  an  impostor.  For  this  reason  their 
hostility  and  their  energies  were  mainly  directed  against  the 
cathedrals,  basilicas,  monasteries,  abbeys,  and  the  bishops 
and  priests  of  the  Roman  Church.  For  this  reason  were  the 
soldiers  of  Islam  ordered  to  execute  special  vengeance  upon 
whatever  pertained  to  the  ecclesiastical  society,  with  the 
grand  view  of  overthrowing  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and 
of  establishing  the  religion  of  Mohammed  upon  the  ruins  of 
Christianity.  The  warriors  of  the  false  prophet  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  finding  the  followers,  the  edifices,  and  the  manuscripts 
of  the  one  true  Church,  as  the  innumerable  slaughters  of 
Christians  and  the  wanton  conflagrations  of  the  holy  places 
and  holy  records  of  the  Church  bear  witness. 

In  the  seventh  century,  after  feudalism  had  been  firmly 
established  in  the  newly  founded  western  kingdoms,  the  con- 
dition of  the  masses  of  the  people  was  one  of  abject  degrada- 
tion. The  feudal  chiefs  and  barons  claimed  and  exercised 
despotic  power  over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  their  retainers. 
Every  thing  like  human  dignity  and  human  rights  Avas  ig- 
nored. Labor  was  degraded,  culture  repressed,  virtue  de- 
rided, and  the  more  base  and  selfish  propensities  cultivated. 
In  this  condition  of  popular,  moral,  and  social  depravation 
and  degradation,  the  down-trodden  people  possessed  one, 
and  only  one  friend — one  resource  and  refuge  from  their 
grievous  wrongs  and  burdens — the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
In  all  their  troubles  and  persecutions  from  emperor,  king, 
baron,  count,  or  chief,  they  ever  found  efficient  aid  and  sym- 
pathy from  the  Church.  As  Christ  and  His  apostles  advo- 
cated the  cause  of  the  poor,  the  humble,  and  the  opj^ressed, 
against  the  rich  and  powerful  of  their  epoch,  so  acted  their 
successors  of  the  seventh  century.     As  White  well  observes : 


THE   CIIUEGII    FOUNDED    JiY   CHEIST,    ETC.  133 


*'  The  Church  placed  itself  at  the  head  of  the  democracy  in 
oijposition  to  the  overweening  pretensions  of  the  chiefs.  It 
opened  its  ranks  to  the  conquered  races,  and  invested  even 
the  converted  serf  with  dignities  wliich  placed  him  above  the 

level  of  thane  or  count There  was  one  earthly  poAver  to 

which  the  oppressed  could  look  up  with  the  certainty  of  sup- 
port. It  was  this  intimate  persuasion  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  which  gave  such  undying  vigor  to  the  councils  and 
pretensions  of  the  ecclesiastical  power.  It  was  a  power 
sprung  from  the  people,  and  exercised  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people."  * 

How  readilv  does  this  Protestant  writer  recosrnize  the 
beneficial  influence- of  the  only  Church  of  God  on  earth  in 
this  darkest  of  centuries ;  and  how  clearly  does  he  make  it 
manifest  that  the  Almighty  has  brought  forth  and  sustained 
this  "  ecclesiastical  power  "  to  resist  tyranny  in  high  places, 
to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the  poor,  the  Imrable,  and  the 
enslaved,  and  to  perj^etuate  the  Christian  religion. 

In  the  divine  epoch,  whenever  Christ  addressed  tiio  mul- 
titudes which  everywliere  followed  Him,  He  always  incul- 
cated the  importance  of  fraternity  and  kindliness  among  men. 
Supreme  love  to  God  and  brotherly  love  according  to  our 
Saviour,  are  tlie  two  great  ideas  upon  which  are  hinged  all 
of  the  laws  and  the  prophets.  The  observance  of  these  pre- 
cepts renders  men  chai'itable,  benevolent,  affectionate,  and 
disposed  to  perform  good  acts.  In  all  ages  the  Church  has 
professed  and  practised  these  commandments,  and  for  this 
reason  has  ever  been  the  cham2:)ion  of  the  oppressed,  the  op- 
j^onent  of  tyrannical  emperors,  kings,  and  nobles,  and  the 
bulwark  of  democracy. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Charlemagne,  great  progress  had 
been  made  in  extending  the  Christian  religion  among  the 
heatlien,  and  in  the  arts  of  civilization.  All  of  these  Cln-is- 
tianizing  and  humanitarian  efforts  originated  in  the  Churcli, 
and  were  sustained  solely  by  its  influence.  Being  a  devoted 
Catliolic,  as  well  as  a  great  statesman  and  wai-rior,  Charle- 

*  "Eigliteeu  Christian  Centuries,"  p.  154. 


134  CHEISTIANITY    AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

magne  brought  into  requisition  the  vast  resources  of  his 
temporal  power  and  his  siDlenclid  intellect,  to  aid  the  Church 
in  extending  and  pei'petuating  the  religion  of  Christ  on 
earth.  Under  the  inspiration  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy 
this  great  monarch  founded  vast  numbers  of  churches,  mon- 
asteries, institutions  of  learning,  and  missions,  throughout 
his  extensive  dominions,  and  gave  every  encouragement  to 
the  arts,  literature,  agriculture,  and  commerce. 

After  his  death,  in  the  early  part  of  the  ninth  century,  the 
Western  empire  again  crumbled  into  fragments,  which  were 
soon  after  reorganized  to  form  several  new  kingdoms.  Dark- 
ness again  came  over  the  nations,  obscuring  the  beacon-light 
of  Christianity,  and  ignorance,  selfishness,  and  sin,  every- 
where abounded.  The  w^hole  of  Europe  was  filled  with  half- 
converted  barbarians,  Franks,  Lombards,  Goths,  Saxons,  etc., 
many  of  them  in  forcible  possession  of  the  temporalities  of 
the  sees.  During  this  deep  darkness  of  the  ninth  century, 
we  may  readily  understand  wdiy  the  progress  of  Christianity 
Avas  of  necessity  slow,  and  the  cultivation  of  those  graces  and 
virtues  w^hich  pertain  to  a  more  advanced  state  of  knowledge 
and  culture  was  exceedingly  limited.  With  such  conflicts 
of  opinion,  Avith  a  world  in  arms — I^orseman  against  Saxon — 
Saracen  against  Frank,  German,  and  Italian — now  the  wor- 
shippers of  Odin  and  Mohammed  in  the  ascendant,  and  again 
the  Christian,  it  is  not  strange  that  so  little  advancement 
was  made  in  religion  and  human  progress.  It  is  unreason- 
able to  compare  these  ncAvly  made  Christians,  these  recent 
w^orshippers  of  heathen  gods,  with  the  enlightened  Christians 
of  the  present  day.  It  is  absurd  to  expect  that  firm  and  un- 
doubting  faith  and  holiness  of  life  in  these  Christians  of  the 
middle  ages,  which  is  demanded  of  the  modern  Catholic. 

The  tenth  century  was  but  little  more  than  a  repetition 
of  the  ninth,  so  far  as  Christianity  and  civilization  Avere  con- 
cerned. In  both  centuries  the  Roman  Church  was  the  only 
element  Avhich  prevented  the  nations  from  lapsing  into  abso- 
lute barbaiism.  WheneA'er  kings,  nobles,  and  warrior-chiefs, 
under  the  influence  of  the  poAvers  of  darkness,  endeavored  to 


THE    CIIUKCII    rOU]S^DED    BY    CHKIST,    ETC.  135 

subvert  Christianity,  and  to  subjugate  the  souls  and  bodies 
of  the  people  to  their  tyrannical  ambition  and  idolatrous 
pleasures,  the  Roman  bishops  and  priests  always  interjiosed 
their  potent  influence  in  behalf  of  the  people.  "  The  tenth 
century,"  remarked  White,  "  is  always  to  be  remembered  as 
the  darkest  and  most  debased  of  all  the  periods  of  modern  his- 
tory. It  was  the  midnight  of  the  human  mind,  far  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  faint  evening  twilight  left  by  Roman  culture, 
and  farther  still  from  the  morning  brightness  of  the  new  and 
higher  civilization."  * 

The  author  of  this  extract  cannot  forego  the  pleasure  of 
vilifying  the  Roman  Church  and  pontiff,  because  they  are 
adjuncts  to  this  dark  century.  But  while  flippantly  accusing- 
bishops  and  priests  of  forgeries,  impostures,  and  crimes  of  all 
kinds,  he  is  forced  to  admit  that,  "  even  in  the  midst  of  this 
corruption  and  ignorance,  there  were  not  wanting  some  re- 
deeming qualities  which  soften  our  feelings  toward  the  eccle- 
siastic power.  It  was  at  all  times,  in  its  theory,  a  protest 
against  the  excesses  of  mere  strength  and  violence.  The 
doctrines  it  professed  to  teach  were  those  of  kindness  and 
charity ;  and  in  the  great  idea  of  the  throned  fisherman  at 
Rome,  the  poorest  saw  a  kingdom  which  was  not  of  this 
world,  and  yet  to  which  all  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  must 

bow Mysterious  reverence  still  hung  round  the  con- 

venls,  within  which  such  ceaseless  prayers  were  said,  and  so 
many  relics  exposed,  and  Avhither  it  was  also  known  that  all 
the  learning  and  scholarship  of  the  land  had  fled  for  refuge 
.  .  .  .  The  abbot  who  neglected  to' feed  the  poor  was  not  only 
an  unchristian  contemner  of  the  precepts  of  the  faith,  but  ran 
counter  to  the  legal  obligations  of  his  place."  f 

We  have  already  observed  that  the  Roman  Church  was 
the  only  redeeming  element  of  this,  as  it  had  been  of  the  pre- 
vious centuries.  The  masses  of  the  people  were  composed 
of  an  amalgamated  race  of  all  the  barbaric  hordes  which  had 
settled   in   Europe,   with    the   effeminate   and    demoralized 

*  "  Eigliteen  Christian  Centuries,"  p.  220. 
f  Ibitl.,  p.  221. 


136  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Christians  of  the  old  empire;  and,  as  might  be  expected, 
they  were  ignorant,  and  often  corrupt  and  lawless.  Nor  is 
it  surprising  that  some  of  these  ungodly  men  occasionally 
secured  high  ecclesiastical  positions  upon  which  they  brought 
disgrace.  But,  in  the  main,  the  priests  of  this  period  were 
holy  and  charitable,  and  were  the  sole  agents  in  transmitting 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  to  sue- 
ceedino-  o-enerations.  Their  monasteries  and  other  institu- 
tions  were  asylums  for  the  oppressed,  and  food-suppliers  for 
the  poor.  If  the  Christians  of  this  period  were  generally  ig- 
norant, they  were  for  the  most  part  earnest  and  faithful  in 
their  religious  duties,  and  by  their  example  and  labors  pre- 
served Europe  from  universal  idolatry. 

Durino-  the  tenth  century  the  Norsemen  under  Rollo  in- 
vaded  France,  captured  Rouen  and  other  towns  and  prov- 
inces, and  established  a  permanent  settlement  in  Normandy. 
On  their  arrival  they  were  heathen,  and  Avorshipped  Thor, 
Odin,  and  Frey ;  but  through  the  efforts  of  the  Catholic  pas- 
tors they  were  speedily  Christianized  and  civilized,  Rollo  re- 
ceiving the  title  of  Duke  of  Normandy  and  Brittany.  Their 
conquered  territory  was  eventually  incorporated  as  a  province 
of  France. 

The  most  notable  events  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  cen- 
turies Avere  the  several  Christian  crusades  against  the  Sara- 
cens for  the  purpose  of  capturing  Jerusalem  and  the .  holy 
places.  Several  of  the  bishops  of  Rome  encouraged  these 
religious  campaigns,  with  a  tAVofold  view  of  uniting  in  a 
common  bond  the  contending  Christian  nations  against  the 
infidel,  and  of  rescuing  from  their  polluting  possession  the 
places  which  had  been  sanctified  by  the  presence  of  Jesus* 
Nearly  the  Avhole  Christian  Avorld  entered  zealously  into 
these  holy  wars,  and  all  national  and  sectional  animosities 
Avere  laid  aside  for  the  better  accomplishment  of  the  great 
enterprise.  Under  the  gloAving  inspiration  of  Peter  the  her- 
mit, St.  Bernard  of  Clair vaux,  and  the  leadership  of  Godfrey, 
Baldwin,  Robert  of  Normandy,  Hugh  the  Great,  Raymond 
of  St.  Gillis,  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  Frederick  Barbarossa, 


THE    CnUECII    FOUNDED   BY   CHRIST,    ETC.  137 

and  Philip  Augustus,  three  successive  crusades  were  under- 
taken during  the  twelfth  century.  In  these  three  crusades 
more  than  two  millions  of  men  were  engaged,  and  about  two 
millions  destroyed  by  war,  famine,  pestilence,  climate,  and 
excesses.  The  motives  of  these  Christian  invaders  were 
good,  and  they  believed  that  they  were  serving  the  cause  of 
God  and  of  the  Christian  religion;  but  their  vast  efforts 
were  unsuccessful. 

During  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  the  Church 
continued  to  be  the  only  element  of  true  civilization.  The 
crusades  had  brought  all  classes  into  more  direct  intercourse 
with  each  other,  and,  through  the  efforts  of  the  priests,  the 
nobles  and  barons  regarded  the  common  people  w^ith  a  higher 
degree  of  respect  and  confidence.  The  Church  has  always 
regarded  all  men  as  equals  before  God  and  the  Church,  and 
all  were  held  responsible  for  their  actions.  Like  the  apostles, 
nearly  all  of  the  popes  and  higher  bishops  had  sprung  from 
the  people,  so  that  from  sympathy,  as  well  as  from  a  sense 
of  duty,"  their  efforts  have  ever  been  directed  toward  their 
elevation  and  happiness.  "  True  to  its  origin,"  says  White, 
"  the  Church  still  continued  the  leader  of  the  people  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  pretensions  of  the  feudal  chiefs.  It  was  still 
a  democratic  organization  for  the  protection  of  the  weak 
against  the  powerful."  * 

The  popes  and  ministers  of  the  Church  have  always  fol- 
lowed in  the  footsteps  of  their  divine  Master,  and  in  all  ages 
of  the  Christian  era  have  sustained  His  doctrines,  and 
been  consistent  and  untiring  friends  and  protectors  of  the 
poor  and  oppressed.  Whenever  emperors,  kings,  or  nobles 
have  practised  injustice  toward  the  people,  the  Church  has 
always  interposed  her  censures  and  her  authority  to  procure 
redress.  During  these  centuries,  many  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, churches,  and  monasteries,  were  erected  by  order  of  the 
popes,  and  great  encouragement  was  given  to  men  of  genius 
and  learning.  Every  thing  like  immorality  and  idleness  was 
rebuked    continually  and    sternly  by  the   popes,    whether 

*  "  Eighteen  Christian  Couturier;'  p.  2V3. 


138  CHEISTIAKTTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

occurring  in  the  palace  or  the  hoyel.  And  chief  among  the 
men  of  learning,  science,  art,  and  agriculture,  as  well  as 
other  useful  and  ornamental  pursuits,  were  the  monks,  as 
had  always  been  the  case  in  previous  centuries.  They  were 
the  pioneers  and  workers  in  every  thing  which  tended  to 
advance  Christianity,  civilization,  and  human  happiness. 

So  far  as  the  general  progress  of  civilization  and  the 
rights  of  man  were  concerned,  the  general  tendencies  of  the 
thirteenth  century  were  progressive.  The  people  of  every 
nation  continued  to  derive  benefit  from  the  truly  religious 
and  democratic  influences  of  the  Church.  All  forms  of  irre- 
ligion  and  of  tyrannical  oppression  were  everywhere  put 
down  with  firmness  by  ecclesiastical  authority,  and  the 
smouldering  fires  of  barbaric  incredulity  and  innovation, 
which  here  and  there  manifested  themselves,  were  summa- 
rily extinguished.  In  the  early  part  of  this  century  a  sect 
of  Protestants  sprung  into  existence,  known  as  Albigenses. 
These  men  introduced  their  innovations  in  Languedoc,  under 
the  patronage  of  Count  Raymond  VI.  Their  object  was  to 
set  up  a  new  rationalistic  creed,  in  place  of  the  established 
doctrines  of  the  Church,  but  were  successfully  resisted  and 
put  down  by  Pope  Innocent  III.  As  might  be  expected, 
our  opponents  have  severely  censured  these  acts  as  uncalled 
for  and  unchristian.  As  a  Catholic  we  are  not  disposed 
to  defend  all  of  the  acts  of  individual  representatives  of  the 
Church  during  the  middle  ages ;  but  had  we  lived  in  those 
days  of  ignorance  and  darkness,  we  might  have  advocated 
them  in  all  honesty  of  intention.  In  this  nineteenth  century 
we  cannot  regard  with  approval  the  crusades  against  the 
Saracens  in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries,  nor  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Inquisition  ;  but  these  abuses  of  ecclesiastical 
power  are  incidents  of  semi-barbarous  epochs,  entirely  out- 
side of  the  authorized  canons  and  dogmas  of  the  Roman 
Church,  and  in  no  manner  connected  with  the  great  truths  of 
the  Church  itself.  In  this  century,  as  in  those  which  had 
passed  away,  the  members  of  the  established  hierarchy  were 
the  only  Christian  teachers  and  civilizers  among  men. 


THE  cnuEcn  fouis'ded  ey  cueist,  etc.  139 

During  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  still  more 
rapid  progress  was  made  by  the  Church  in  extending  the 
truths  of  Christianity,  and  in  ameliorating  the  condition  of 
men.  As  her  precepts  became  more  universally  ditfused 
among  the  amalgamated  races  of  the  Old  World,  and  the 
suiDcrstitions  of  paganism  and  the  fallacious  philosophies  of 
the  schools  gave  way  before  the  beneficent  principles  of  the 
Christian  religion,  the  useful  arts  made  rapid  progress,  liter- 
ature revived,  and  especial  attention  began  to  be  directed 
to  subjects  and  pursuits  pertaining  to  a  higher  civilization. 
Agriculture,  manufactures,  commerce,  and  education  every- 
where received  new"  impulses ;  and  popular  liberty,  which  had 
hitherto  been  repressed  by  rulers  and  nobles,  began  to  be 
difi*used  among  the  masses  of  the  people.  The  protracted 
struggles  of  the  priesthood  against  emperors,  kings,  and 
nobles,  in  favor  of  the  common  people,  had  now  culminated 
in  securing  for  them  a  greater  amount  of  liberty,  equality, 
prosperity,  and  haj^piness. 

Considering  the  difficulty  of  acquiring  knowledge,  and 
the  limited  amount  possessed  by  the  Christians  of  these  pe- 
riods, until  the  discovery  of  printing  in  1452,  the  progress  of 
Christianity  must  be  regarded  as  rapid.  Ecclesiastical  edi- 
fices and  colleges  grew  up  in  all  directions,  and  with  steadily 
increasing  rapidity,  and  new  converts  fi-om  paganism  and  in- 
fidelity were  daily  added  to  the  Church.  In  these  centuries, 
as  in  previous  ones,  there  were  some  half-converted  Chris- 
-tians,  among  them  bishops  and  priests,  who  did  not  hesitate 
to  violate  their  sacred  obligations,  and  bring  scandal  upon 
alh connected  with  them;  but  the  popes  and  ecclesiastical 
councils-  were  always  on  the  alert  to  reform  all  such  indi- 
vidual abuses.  No  eflbrts  have  ever  been  wanting:  on  the 
part  of  the  high  ecclesiastical  authorities  'to  correct  all 
abuses  and  corruptions  which  have,  from  time  to  time,  been 
introduced  by  bad  bishops,  priests,  and  emperors.  But  let 
it  never  be  forgotten  that  the  authorized  doctrines  of  the 
Church  have  always  remaitied  the  same  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles.     Occasionally  individuals  \\\\\q  tried  to  alter,  per- 


140  CHEISTIANITT   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

vert,  or  to  add  to  these  sacred  and  immutable  truths,  and 
have  committed  acts  derogatory  to  morals  and  religion  ;  but 
their  innovations,  and  their  immoralities,  have  always  been 
denounced  by  the  popes  and  by  the  councils. 

Nor  T/ere  the  efforts  of  the  Church  during  these  three 
centuries  confined  to  Europe.  Her  missionaries  not  only 
traversed  the  most  remote  parts  of  Europe,  but  penetrated 
into  the  most  wild  and  inhospitable  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
Even  as  e^arly  as  the  seventh  century  these  devoted  men,  in  imi- 
tation of  their  holy  predecessors  and  exemplars,  St.  Paul,  St. 
Barnabas,  and  St.  Thomas,  sought  the  very  centres  ot  bar- 
barism to  preach  Christ  crucified.  China,  Japan,  and  India 
T>^ere  all  blessed  by  the  presence  of  these  servants  of  God, 
and  their  most  interior  provinces  were  often  enriched  by  their 
martyr-blood  during  these  early  ages.  According  to  Blum- 
hardt,  "  the  monumental  stone  discovered  in  1625,  near  the 
city  of  Si-ngan-fou,  decisively  proves  that  China  was  evan- 
gelized before  the  seventh  century."  Gibbon  also  states  that 
"the  Christianity  of  China  between  the  seventh  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  is  invincibly  proved  by  the  consent  of  Chi- 
nese, Arabian,  Syriac,  and  Latin  evidence.  In  the  thirteenth 
century  there  was  already  an  archbishop  at  Pekin,  w^ho  had 
under  his  jurisdiction  four  suffragan  bishops;  and  in  the 
fourteenth  century.  Pope  Clement  the  Fifth  appointed  the 
celebrated  Franciscan,  John  de  Monte  Corvino,  as  metro- 
politan." Sir  George  Staunton  estimates  the  number  of 
Christians  in  China  at  the  present  time  as  more  than  a  mil- 
lion. In  1859  there  were  fifty-one  bishops,  six  hundred 
and  twenty-four  priests,  and  eighteen  ecclesiastical  colleges. 
Wherever  in  the  known  world  there  Avere  souls  to  be  saved, 
there  might  be  found  these  Catholic  imitators  of  the  first 
apostles — always  humbly  clad,  poorly  fed  and  sheltered, 
purseless,  homeless,  friendless — among  heathen,  revilers  of 
the  true  God,  and  haters  of  Christianity  and  Christians.  The 
Catholic  missionaries  have  ever  continued  on  in  the  good 
work,  in  the  midst  of  stripes,  imprisonment,  tortures,  and 
death ;  until,  at  the  present  time,  they  can  count  more  than 


THE    CIIURCn    FOUNDED   BY    CIIKIST,    ETC.  141 

a  million  of  native  converts  in  China,  twenty-five  thousand 
in  Japan,  and  twelve  hundred  thousand  in  British  India. 
Within  the  last  half  century,  Protestant  sectarians  have 
attempted  the  same  thing ;  but  with  all  their  vast  machinery, 
their  enormous  expenditures,  their  extensive  distribution  of 
tracts  and  Testaments,  and  their  v/ell-paid  missionaries,  who 
hover  around  the  borders  of  heathendom,  surrounded  by 
commercial  settlers  and  national  gunboats,  they  have  accom- 
plished nothing  in  the  loay  of  permanent  conversions.  The 
Protestant  missionary  has  never  deemed  it  his  duty  to  haz- 
ard his  life  by  cutting  loose  from  the  European  settlements, 
and  plunging  into  the  interior,  where  detection  entails  mar- 
tyi'dom.  He  casts  his  bread  upon  tlie  waters  by  distributing 
cargoes  of  badly-translated  tracts  and  Testaments  to  ignorant 
and  unappreciative  Chinese,  Japanese,  or  Brahmins,  who,  ih 
nearly  all  instances,  employ  them  as  wrapi)ing  or  waste 
paper.  These  facts  are  amply  corroborated  by  numerous 
Protestant  authorities. 

The  apostles  and  their  fellow-missionaries  were  accus- 
tomed to  go  personally,  ^ii^  preach  and  teach  the  gospel  to 
the  heathen,  braving  stripes,  imprisonment,  and  death.  They 
never  distributed  tracts  or  Testaments,  but  taught  and  j^rac- 
tised  their  doctrines  personally.  In  all  parts  of  the  world 
their  Catholic  successors  have  ever  imitated  them.  They 
have  plunged  into  the  most  hostile  and  pestilent  regions, 
risking  all  dangers,  j^rivations,  and  martyrdom,  in  order  to 
teach  and  preach  personally  the  Christian  religion.  The  re- 
sults have  been  thousands  of  martyrdoms,  and  millions  of 
converts.  Protestants  take  no  risks  of  this  kind.  They  go 
only  where  their  persons  are  safe,  distributing,  without  much 
discrimination,  innumerable  proselyting  documents,  not  one 
in  a  thousand  of  which  is  ever  read. 

Who  can  contrast  the  heroism,  the  privations,  the  dan- 
gers, and  the  martyrdoms  of  Corvino,  Xavier,  Eicei,  Schaal, 
Verbiest,  Grimaldi,  Pereira,  Gerbillon,  Bouvet,  Gabiani, 
and  a  host  of  other  Catholic  missionaries,  who  liave  laid 
down  their  lives  in  the  interior  of  China,  with  tl;e  well-fed, 


142  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

well-clad,  well-housed,  well-paid,  and  comfortable  Protestant 
missionaries  of  the  European  trading  settlements,  without 
acknowledging  that  the  former  are  the  only  true  agents  and 
representatives  of  the  Church  of  God?  Who  can  witness 
the  results  of  each  class  of  laborers — more  than  a  million  of 
Catholic  converts,  and  scarcely  a  score  of  Protestant  ones — 
and  not  know  which  was  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  which 
of  the  profane  sects  of  men  ?  What  has  been  said  respecting 
Catholic  missions  in  China,  ai-)plies  with  equal  truth  to  almost 
every  barbarous  nation  in  the  world. 

When  St.  Paul  entered  upon  his  missionary  career  he 
became  "all  things  to  all  men;"  for,  says  he,  "If  meat  scan- 
dalize my  brother,  I  will  never  eat  flesh ; "  and  again,  "  all 
things  are  lawful  to  me,  but  all  things  are  not  expedient ; " 
and  again,  when  he  entered  Jerusalem  to  convert  the  Jews,  he 
shaved  his  head  in  accordance  with  their  own  custom,  in  order 
to  adapt  himself  as  much  as  possible  to  their  ways  and  harm- 
less prejudices.  Catholic  missionaries  have  always  followed 
in  the  footsteps  of  their  inspired  exemplar,  and  made  it  a 
rule  to  adapt  themselves  as  much  as  possible  to  the  customs 
and  habits  of  those  to  whom  they  were  sent,  provided  that 
they  violated  no  divine  precept  by  so  doing.  Aware  of  the 
imjoossibility  of  breaking  down  the  thoughts,  ideas,  tradi- 
tions, and  habits  of  many  generations,  and,  by  a  coup  de 
tnain,  of  substituting  a  nev/  code  of  principles  and  a  new 
mode  of  life,  the  apostles  of  Catholicism  have  always  con- 
fined their  first  labors  among  the  heathen  to  the  dissemina- 
tion of  correct  views  concerning  God,  the  atonement,  and 
spiritual  life.  If  the  heathen  flock  were  wild  nomads,  the 
missionary  also  became  a  nomad,  and  shared  in  the  dangers 
and  privations  of  the  rude  wanderers.  Among  the  Brah- 
mins of  India,  who  were  tenacious  of  the  distinctions  and 
privileges  of  their  high  caste,  the  early  missionaries  recog- 
nized and  respected  these  claims,  adapted  themselves  to  their 
harmless  social  peculiarities,  but  urged  upon  them  a  new  and 
Christian  spiritual  law.  In  this  manner  did  Father  Francis 
Xavier,  Robert  do  Nobili,  De  Britto,  and  Laynez  impress 


THE   CIIUKCn   FOUNDED   BY    CHRIST,    ETC.  143 


the  proucT  Brahmins,  and  gradually  convert  hirge  numbers 
of  them  to  the  religion  of  Christ.  By  similar  means  were 
the  natives  of  Mexico  converted  by  Las  Casas,  the  savage 
tribes  of  North  America  by  Briencourt,  Biart,  AUoez,  Mar- 
quette, Brebeuf,  Jogues,  and  Goupil ;  the  Chinese  and  Japan- 
ese by  Ricci,  Schaal,  Yerbiest,  and  their  associates. 

How  admirably  do  these  missionary  enterprises  prove 
the  identity  of  the  Catholic  Church  with  that  instituted  by 
our  Saviour  and  His  apostles !  In  a  future  chapter  we  shall 
present  some  interesting  statistics  upon  this  subject. 

AYe  come  now  to  the  question  respecting  the  true  inter- 
pretation and  meaning  of  the  Scriptures ;  and  we  shall  present 
a  few  of  the  leading  arguments  of  the  Church  in  opposition 
to  independent  private  judgment  in  explaining  the  mysteries 
of  Holy  AYrit,  and  to  the  reasons  which  have  been  adduced 
by  Protestants  in  favor  of  private  inter2:>retation. 

1.  The  Church  claims  that  Christ  when  on  earth,  found'^d 
a  Church,  with  His  apostles  and  their  successors  as  its  au- 
thorized ministers — that  He  committed  to  these  authorized 
ministers  the  custody  and  perpetuation  of  the  precepts  and 
practices  which  He  had  taught  by  oral  words,  and  that,  just 
before  His  ascension  He  appointed  St.  Peter  as  the  head 
bishop  of  this  Church,  with  the  power  of  the  keys.  These 
doctrhies  were  all  taught  and  explained  to  the  apostles  orally^ 
and  they  were  commanded  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  ex- 
plain orally  to  every  creature  the  same  doctrines,  commit- 
ting them  again  to  other  faithful  men,  who  should  continue 
the  work  of  preaching  and  teaching  orally  the  same  doc- 
trines. According  to  St.  John,  these  doctrines  of  our  Saviour 
were  so  numerous  that  it  was  impossible  to  commit  them  to 
writing,  for,  says  the  apostle,  "  And  there  are  also  many 
other  things  which  Jesus  did,  the  which,  if  they  should  be 
written  every  one,  I  suppose  that  even  the  world  itself  could 
not  contain  the  books  that  should  be  written.     Amen."  * 

From  this  assertion  of  St.  John,  the  conclusion  is  inevita- 
ble that  he  entertained  the   oj)inion  that  a  portion   of  the 

*  John  xxi.  25. 


14:4:  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

teachings  and  practices  of  Christ  must  necessarily  be  trans- 
mitted by  the  Chnrch  and  her  ministers  orally  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  and  that  faithful  men  of  the  Church,  un- 
der the  promised  aid  and  direction  of  the  Spirit  of  God,mnst 
continue  to  the  end  of  the  world  to  preach,  teach,  and  ex- 
plain all  things  whatsoever,  written  and  unwritten,  which 
had  been  committed  to  them. 

2.  Nearly  every  Christian  writer,  during  the  first  five  cen- 
turies after  Christ,  gives  testimony  that  the  Church  was  the 
only  recognized  depository  and  interpreter  of  both  the  Avrit- 
ten  Scriptures  and  the  unwritten  words  and  deeds  of  Jesus 
alluded  to  by  John.  In  the  sacred  and  God-defended  bosom 
of  this  Church  were  contained  all  of  the  truths  which  our 
blessed  Saviour  had  revealed  to  man.  From  apostle  to  apos- 
tle, from  bishop  to  bishop,  from  priest  to  priest,  from  disci})le 
to  disciple  were  the  words  which  Christ  uttered,  and  the  deeds 
which  He  performed,  transmitted  within  and  under  the  sole 
direction  of  the  only  Church  of  God  then  in  existence.  The 
sum  of  these  words  and  deeds,  confided  only  to  this  Church, 
guarded  and  retained  only  by  this  Church,  constituted  the 
only  real  and  universal  religion  of  God  on  earth  for  a  period 
of  nearly  fifteen  hundred  years.  A  part  of  these  words  and 
deeds  were  the  written  Scriptures  of  the  apostles  and 
their  holy  predecessors,  and  a  part  the  recorded  tradi- 
tions of  the  successors  of  the  apostles — the  only  recognized 
rej^resentatives  of  Christ  on  earth.  As  ages  rolled  on, 
here  and  there  a  visionary  and  irresponsible  enthusiast 
would  make  a  suggestion,  or  attempt  an  innovation,  but  for 
the  most  part  they  were  too  insignificant,  or  their  innova- 
tions too  absurd,  to  attract  serious  or  general  attention.  A 
reference  to  the  scliismatic  puerilities  of  the  early  centuries 
will  demonstrate  their  unscriptural  and  anti-christian  char- 
acter. We  desire  to  impress  indelibly  upon  the  minds  and 
consciences  of  men  the  great  fact,  that  the  divine  legacy  be- 
queathed by  Christ  to  men — the  sacred  Scriptures  and  tra- 
ditions of  God's  visible  Church — v/ere  written  in  the  records 
of  the  Church  by  the  hands  of  Catholic  priests,  were  passed 


TJIE    CHUECH   FOUNDED   BY    CHEIST,    ETC.  145 


from  generation  to  generation  by  Catholics,  and  that  the 
same  Scriptures  and  same  traditions  are  still  in  the  same 
Church,  while  apat^t  only  of  the  legacy — the  written  Scrip- 
tures— has  been  appropriated  by  modern  Protestants.  In 
view  of  this  vital  fact,  it  is  pertinent  to  inquire,  where  would 
modern  Protestantism  have  been  if  the  Almighty  in  His  prov- 
idence had,  during  the  first  fifteen  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  extinguished  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  its  sacred 
trusts  ?  Where  would  have  been  the  Bible  ?  AYhere  would 
have  been  the  numberless  sects,  creeds,  dissensions,  and  pri- 
vate interpretations  of  Holy  Writ  which  now  distract  and 
divide  the  Christian  Avorld  ?  Where  would  have  been  the 
creed  of  the  Churcli  of  England,  if  Henry  VHI.  had  not 
forced  into  his  service  Wolsey,  Cranmcr,  and  other  Roman 
Catholics,  and  the  liturgy  of  the  Catholic  Cliurch  ?  Wliere 
would  have  been  Lutheranism,  Calvinism,  and  other  sects,  if 
these  apostate  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  had  not  pur- 
loined from  the  Church  of  Rome  a  portion  of  her  sacred 
records  for  purposes  of  sacrilegious  perversion  and  schism  ? 
Where  now  would  have  been  any  Christian  religion,  if  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  had  been  extinguished  at  any  period 
daring  the  first  fifteen  centuries  after  Christ  ? 

Belief  that  the  Scriptures  are  the  written  word  of  God, 
intended  for  the  instruction  and  guidance  of  men,  is,  indeed, 
common  to  nearly  all  Christendom;  but  unfortunately  the 
fruits  of  this  belief  are  not  always  beneficent.  During  the 
earthly  mission  of  our  Saviour,  and  for  many  centuries  after 
His  ascension,  the  art  of  printing  was  unknown.  Necessity 
and  universal  custom  therefore  required  that  all  important 
civil  and  religious  laws  shoukl  tje  preserved  and  perpetuated 
either  in  written  manuscripts  copied  by  scribes,  or  by  un- 
icritten  traditions.  From  the  earliest  periods  doAvn  to  the 
discovery  of  printing,  by  far  the  greater  proportion  of  civil 
law  remained  unwritten.,  and  was  lianded  down  orally  from 
generation  to  generation.  These  traditional  maxims  have 
always  been  recognized  and  designated  as  the  '''•common 
law  ;^''  and  even  at  the  present  time  we  find  the  same  un- 
7 


146  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

written  "  common  laAV,"  both  in  England  and  America.  In 
England  these  laws  have  existed  from  time  immemorial,  and 
have  for  the  most  part  been  preserved  without  alteration. 
The  few  alterations  which  appear,  have  been  made  in  conse- 
quence of  social  and  political  changes,  and  by  competent 
judicial  tribunals  or  councils.  These  laws  are  founded  on 
principles  of  eternal  justice,  and  have  always  been  regarded 
as  higher  legal  authority,  and  more  entitled  to  respect,  than 
loritten  statute  laws. 

In  like  manner  many  of  the  laws  of  God  have  been  ^^re- 
served  and  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation  by  un- 
loritten  traditions.  Many  of  the  precepts  and  practices  of  the 
ancient  Jews  were  passed  orally  from  one  period  to  another, 
and  this  oral  transmission  has  contmued  with  this  peculiar 
people  up  to  the  present  time. 

From  repeated  declarations  of  our  Saviour,  it  is  evident 
that  He  relied  chiefly  ujDon  oral  transmission  for  the  preserva- 
tion and  perpetuation  of  His  doctrines.  Thus,  in  liis  various 
charges  to  His  apostles.  He  repeatedly  commands  them  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  all  nations,  teaching  them  orally  those 
things  which  they  have  heard  from,  and  been  taught  by  Ilim. 
Just  before  His  ascension  He  intimated  to  His  disciples  that, 
although  they  had  heard  many  things  from  Him,  and  been 
taught  many  things,  yet  there  were  many  things  which  they 
could  not  yet  hear  or  understand.  But  for  their  consolation 
He  promised  to  send  down  upon  them,  after  His  arrival  in 
heaven,  the  Paraclete  which  should  teach  them  all  truth,  and 
which  should  continue  to  instruct  and  sustain  them  and  their, 
successors  in  the  preservation  and  perpetuation  of  the  truths 
of  God  until  the  end  of  the  world.  Had  Christ  intended  that 
all  of  His  laws  should  be  handed  down  to  the  end  of  the 
world  in  written  statutes,  He  would,  doubtless,  have  signified 
it  in  some  manner.  If  such  had  been  His  intention,  He 
would  not  have  deemed  it  requisite  at  the  day  of  Pentecost 
to  send  down  His  Holy  Spirit  to  lead  the  disciples  into  all 
trnth,  to  inspire  them  Avith  additional  knowledge,  courage, 
and  religious  devotion,  and  to  continue  with  the  priests  of 


THE   CIIUKCH   rOIJNDED   BY   CIIKIST,    ETC.  147 

the  Churcli  as  their  spiritual  instructor  and  guardian  until 
the  consummation  of  days. 

The  following  passages  of  Scripture  demonstrate  clearly 
that  the  written  Scriptures  contain  only  a  part  of  Ilis  teach- 
ings, but  that  many  of  His  truths  must  be  explained  and 
transmitled  orally  by  the  authorized  bishops  and  j^riests  of 
the  Church :  "  Therefore,  brethren,  stand  fast  and  hold  the 
tradition  ye  have  been  taught,  whether  by  icord  or  our 
epistle.'''''^  In  this  passage  St.  Paul  expressly  directs  the 
brethren  to  cling  to  what  they  have  received  in  writing^  and 
have  heard  from  the  iiioittlis  of  their  pastors.  He  does  not 
say  that  the  written  Scriptures  are  the  only  rule  of  faith,  as 
do  modern  Protestants,  but  he  exhorts  his  disciples  to  hold 
fiist  also  to  the  tradition  which  he  had  spoJcen  to  them. 
"  The  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of  me  among  many  wit- 
nesses, the  same  commit  thou  to  those  fiithful  men  who  shall 
be  able  to  teach  others  also."  f  When  Paul  addressed  these 
remarks  to  Timothy,  he  did  not  intend  that  Timothy  should 
lorite  out  what  he  had  heard,  and  send  it  to  the  people  in 
manuscript  so  that  each  person  could  make  an  interpretation 
as  his  fancy  might  dictate,  but  he  ordered  him  to  commit  it 
orcdly  to  other  faithful  men  who  should  ^jjreac/i  and  teach  the 
same  to  others.  "  Xow  we  command  you,  brethren,  in  the 
name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  withdraw  your- 
selves from  every  brother  that  walketh  disorderly,  and  not 
after  the  tradition  which  he  received  of  us."  J  Christ  com- 
manded His  apostles  to  go  into  all  the  world  and ^:;rei?eA  the 
gospel  to  every  creature ;  teaching  them  to  repent,  confess,  and 
be  baptized  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  teaching  them  to  observe  all  the  tilings 
whatsoever  He  had  commanded  them ;  and  promising  to  be 
with  them  all  days,  even  to  the  end  of  the  world.  Our 
Saviour  did  not  command  them  to  go  and  leave  with  the  na- 
tions written  manuscripts  concerning  the  things  He  had  taught 
them,  but  to  prea.ch  and  to  explain  to  them  orally  His  truths. 
The  command  and  the  p)romise  evidently  aj)plied  to  the  suc- 

*  2  Thess.  v.  13.  f  2  Tim.  ii.  2.  :j:  2  Thcss.  iii.  G. 


148  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

cessors  of  tlie  apostles  as  well  as  to  themselves,  since  Jesus 
is  to  be  with  them  all  days^  even  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
He  is  to  be  with  them  in  their  preaching  and  teaching.,  as 
well  as  ill  their  written  Scriptures,  always.  Here  is  a  dis- 
tinct avowal  that  Scripture  and  tradition  go  hand  in  hand, 
that  the  successors  of  the  apostles  are  to  act  as  the  custodians 
and  interpreters  of  both,  and  that  the  Almighty,  by  means 
of  His  Holy  Spirit,  will  instruct  them  and  keep  them  in  all 
truth. 

As  the  "  common  law  "  of  diiferent  nations  was  founded 
on  principles  of  natural  or  self-evident  justice,  for  the  con- 
servation of  civil  and  social  order,  and  has  been  transmitted 
by  oral  tradition  through  many  centuries ;  so  was  the  tradi- 
tional or  common  law  of  the  Church  founded  on  principles 
of  natural,  self-evident,  and  eternal  truths,  derived  from 
heavenly  inspirations,  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  human 
race,  and  has  also  been  transmitted  by  oral  tradition  from 
the  days  of  the  apostles  to  the  present  time.  As  the  "  com- 
mon "  or  unwritten  civil  laws  precede,  regulate,  explain,  and 
sustain  all  statute  or  icritten  laws,  so  do  the  traditional  or 
unicritten  laws  of  the  Church  precede,  verify,  explain,  and 
sustain  the  icritten  Scriptures.  As  the  common  and  unwritten 
civil  laAvs  were  in  practical  operation  long  before  the  exist- 
ence of  any  icrltten  or  statute  laws,  so  were  the  sacred  tradi- 
tions of  the  Church  in  practical  operation  and  recognized  as 
the  unwritten  word  of  God  long  before  the  existence  of  the 
written  gospels.  As  St.  Ignatius  has  truly  observed,  "  The 
religion  and  the  Church  of  Christ  would  have  been  preserved 
and  perpetuated  by  tradition,  if  the  apostles  had  never  com- 
mitted their  gospels  to  writing." 

From  these  facts  it  is  evident  that  the  traditions  of  the 
Church  and  tlie  Scriptures  are  equally  the  word  of  God,  and 
equally  authoritative ;  and  that  the  former  are  the  only  safe 
guides  in  the  interpretation  of  the  latter,  and  of  the  mysteries 
of  religion. 

The  following  brief  extracts  from  the  writings  of  the 
early  fathers  and  martyrs  clearly  demonstrate  the  fact  that 


THE   CIIDKCn   FOUNDED   BY   CHRIST,    ETC.  149 

the  Clmrcli  was  the  only  custodian  and  interpreter  of  the 
holy  precepts  which  our  Saviour  left  behind  Him  as  the  rule 
of  faith  and  practice  of  mankind  : 

In  an  epistle  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  St.  Ignatius,  a  friend 
and  companion  of  the  apostles,  writes  as  follows  :  "  To  the 
Clmrch ....  which  presides  in  the  place  of  the  country  of 
the  Romans,  all-godly,  all-gracious,  all-blessed,  all-praised, 
all-prospering,  all-hallowed,  and  presiding  in  love  with  the 
name  of  Christ,  with  the  name  of  the  Father."  *  "  Be  sub- 
ject to  your  bishops  as  to  Jesus  Christ."  "Follow  your  bish- 
ops as  Jesus  Christ  the  Father ;  the  Presbytery  as  the  apos- 
tles ;  reverence  the  deacons  as  the  ordinance  of  God." 

St.  Polycarp,  another  disciple  and  friend  of  the  apostles, 
having  some  doubts  respecting  the  proper  time  for  observing 
Easter,  "  came  to  Rome,"  according  to  Eusebius,  "  in  the 
time  of  Anicetus's  episcopate,  and  conferred  with  him  upon 
the  question."  The  decision  of  Anicetus  was  recognized  as 
binding  by  St.  Polycarp. 

St.  Irenaeus,  the  disciple  of  St.  Polycarp,  writes  as  fol- 
lows :  "  We  appeal  to  the  faith  and  traditions  of  the  greatest, 
and  most  ancient,  and  universally-known  Church,  which  was 
founded  and  constituted  at  Rome  by  Peter  and  Paul — that 
tradition  which  it  liolds  from  the  apostles,  and  that  faith 
which  is  proclaimed  to  men  through  successions  of  bishops 
coming  down  to  us ; — and  so  we  confound  all  those  who  in 
any  way,  whether  through  depraved  selt-will  or  vainglory,  or 
through  blindness  and  perverse  judgment,  come  to  erroneous 
conclusions.  For  with  this  Church,  because  of  its  higher 
original,  it  is  essential  that  every  church  should  agree — that 
is,  the  faithful  from  all  quarters ;  and  in  this  Church  by  the 
faithful  generally  apostolic  tradition  has  all  along  been  pre- 
served." Again,  1.  "  Tradition  must  determine  controver- 
sies." 2.  "  The  Catholic  Church  has  kept  the  traditions  de- 
livered by  oil  the  apostles."  3.  "  By  Roman  tradition  we 
confound  all  heretics."  4.  "  Rome  is  the  greatest  Church — 
and  the  most  ancient — not  literally  in  time,  for  that  would 

*  Ep.  ad  Rom.  Sup. 


150  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

not  be  true,  but  in  dignity^  because  of  its  higher  orignial — 
because  it  was  the  mother  of  all — that  out  of  which  all  au- 
thority springs ;  and  because  of  its  foundation  by  the  great 
apostles  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul." 

This  is  the  testimony  of  a  man  who  was  a  jDupil  of  one 
who  had  listened  to  the  preaching  and  received  the  instruc- 
tions of  St.  John  the  apostle,  and  who  was  martyred  in  the 
service  of  Jesus  of  N^azareth.  Is  it  not  presumptuous  to  pro- 
test against  the  testimony  of  these  friends  and  pupils  of  the 
apostles  of  Christ  ? 

Sozomen,  in  writing  about  the  consubstantiality  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  remarks :  "  This  dispute  having  arisen,  and,  as 
was  natural,  gathering  strength  from  day  to  day,  through 
men's  love  of  strife,  the  Bishop  of  Home,  when  informed  of 
it,  wrote  to  the  churches  of  the  East,  that  they  should  ac- 
knowledge the  Trinity,  one  in  substance  and  in  glory,  to- 
gether with  the  bishops  of  the  West.  Whereupon  they  all 
acquiesced,  the  question  being  once  for  all  decided  hy  the  Church 
of  Rome ^  and  the  dispute  to  all  appearance  was  brought  to 
a  close." 

St.  Gregory  IsTazianzen  writes :  "  The  faith  of  old  Rome  was 
right  from  the  beginning,  and  she  continues  right,  hinding 
icith  holy  bonds  every  nation  under  the  sun^  as  well  becomes 
the  president  of  the  whole  v:o7'UV  * 

St.  Ambrose  says :  "  Let  the  creed  of  the  apostles  be  be- 
lieved, which  the  Moman  Church  always  Jceeps  and  2^reserves 
inviolate^  f 

St.  Augustine  observes :  "  For  what  could  that  holy  man 
(St.  Innocent)  answer  to  the  African  councils,  unless  what 
from  ancient  t lines  the  apostolic  see  and  the  Roman  Church 
perseveringly  holds  ?  "  J  "  l7i  these  words  of  the  apostolic  see, 
so  ancient  and  established,  certain  and  clear  is  the  Catholic 
faith."  § 

Our  limited  space  only  admits  of  a  few  extracts  from  the 
writings  of  the  early  Fathers  ;  but  these  are  fair  samples  of 

*  Ex.  lib.  de  vita  sua.  |  Comicil  of  Milan,  iv.  116,  B. 

:j;  Ibid.  X.  £03,  G.  §  Ibid.  x.  418,  D. 


THE    CIIUECII   FOUNDED   EY   CnPJST,    ETC.  151 

tlie  opinions  entertained  by  nearly  every  reputable  ecclesias- 
tical writer  diirinp^  the  first  fifteen  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era.  First,  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  pupils  and  com- 
panions of  the  apostles  themselves  respecting  the  divine 
origin  and  the  authority  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and 
the  supremacy  of  her  bishops,  and  the  interpretation  of  the 
Scriptures.  Among  these  arc  Ignatius,  Polycarp,  Clement, 
and  Irenfcus.  Next,  we  have  the  evidence,  to  the  same  pur- 
port, of  the  disciples  and  friends  of  these  pupils  of  the  apos- 
tles; and  so  on  from  period  to  period  down  to  the  present 
day.  Thousands  of  writers,  scattered  throughout  the  whole 
world,  and  contemporaneous  with  every  Bishop  of  Rome,  have 
borne  witness  that  the  Catliolic  Church  is  the  only  true 
Church  of  God,  designated  in  Holy  Writ ;  and  that  the  inter- 
pretations and  decisions  of  this  Church  are  binding  on  all 
Christians  as  the  Heaven-born,  Heaven-inspired,  and  Heaven- 
protected  institution  of  Christ. 

The  written  and  unwritten  truths  of  God  have  always 
been  sacredly  preserved  within  the  Catholic  Church.  But 
whenever  any  questions  have  arisen  respecting  the  proper  in- 
terpretation and  significance  of  any  portion  of  these  truths, 
councils  have  been  convened,  composed  of  the  most  learned 
and  holy  men  of  different  periods,  for  the  purpose  of  discuss- 
ing and  deciding  these  mooted  points.  ISTo  private  inspira- 
tion, no  dogmatic  dictum  of  an  individual,  no  single  judg- 
ment has  ever  settled  definitely  and  authoritatively  any 
doubtful  question  pertaining  to  the  Church ;  but  vast  assem- 
blies of  intellectual,  pious,  and  erudite  men,  after  open  dis- 
cussions and  deliberations  for  weeks,  and  sometimes  months 
and  years,  have  sifted  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  and  thus 
preserved  the  precepts  of  Christ  as  they  "were  delivered  to 
the  apostles.  All  of  the  councils  of  the  Church  have  been 
fiimply  reformatory  assemblies,  called  together  by  different 
Bishops  of  Rome,  for  the  express  purpose  of  elucidating  and 
explaining  doubtful  points  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  and  for 
correcting  errors  and  abuses  which  have  been  accidentally 
or  designedly  introduced  by  theologians.     One  of  the  argu- 


152  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ments  wliicli  have  been  urged  against  Catliolicism  is  that  some 
of  her  bishops  and  other  dignitaries  have  been  wicked  men, 
and  have  originated  and  sanctioned  sinful  and  ungodly  prac- 
tices. But  neither  the  words  nor  the  acts  of  a  man  or  of 
any  number  of  men,  even  if  they  be  priests,  can  change  the 
recorded  decrees  of  the  Almighty.  As  St.  Paul,  in  his  epistle 
to  the  Galatians,  remarks :  "  But  though  we,  or  an  angel 
from  heaven,  preach  any  other  gospel  unto  you  than  that 
Avhich  we  have  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed. 
As  we  said  before,  so  say  I  now  again,  if  any  onan  preach 
any  other  gosj)el  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let 
him  be  accursed."  * 

In  opposition  to  these  Heaven-born  and  Heaven-preserved 
records  of  the  Clmrch,  and  the  deliberate  decisions  of  nearly 
all  the  holy  men  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  councils  of  the 
world  up  to  the  sixteenth  century,  individuals  have  here  and 
there  presented  themselves  as  protesters  against  the  estab- 
lished doctrines,  and  set  up  in  their  stead  creeds  of  their  own, 
designating  them  by  and  dignifying  them  with  their  oivn 
names.  Thus,  Montanus  ^:>ro^e5?ec?  "  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
having  failed  to  save  mankind  by  Moses,  and  afterward  by 
Christ,  had  enlightened  and  sanctified  him  to  accomplish 
this  great  work."  In  this  way  the  sect  of  Jlontanists  came 
into  existence.  Arian  ^^^otested  against  the  Holy  Trinity, 
and  taught  that  Christ  was  not  equal  to  the  Father,  but 
simply  a  great  high-priest  and  prophet.  Thus  originated  the 
Protestant  sect  of  Arians.  Manicheus  protested  against  all 
church  authority,  and  taught  that  every  man  should  rely 
upon  his  own  private  judgment  in  matters  of  religion ;  that 
his  only  rule  of  faith  should  be  the  Bible,  and  that  he  should 
be  his  own  private  interpreter  of  the  ScrijDtures.  Thus  arose 
the  sect  oi Manicheans.  Donatus,  Pelagius,  Celestius,  Euty- 
ches,  and  numerous  other  protesting  individuals,  have,  at 
different  epochs,  spining  up,  and  invented  man-creeds  and 
man-sects  to  glorify  themselves,  rather  than  to  serve  the 
cause  of  God.     As  our  observations  respecting  the   more 

*  Gal.  i.  8,  9. 


THE   CIIUECir    FOUNDED   BY    CIIKIST,    ETC.  158 

modern  sects  of  Protestants  will  be  somewhat  extended,  we 
refer  the  reader  to  a  future  chapter.  We  simply  allude  to 
the  subject  here  to  show  the  distractions  and  sectarian  divi- 
sions into  which  Protestants  fill  who  rely  on  private  judg- 
ment in  the  interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

It  is  impossible  to  examine  impartially  the  doctrines  and 
ordinances  taught  and  practised  by  Jesus  and  His  apostles, 
and  to  compare  them  critically  with  those  which  have  always 
been  held  and  practised  by  the  Church  of  Rome,  without 
recognizing  their  identity.  The  circumstances  connected 
with  the  jDromulgation  and  perj^etuation  of  these  doctrines 
and  observances  fully  establish  the  truth  of  this  identity. 
Surely  no  one  should  presume  to  assert  that  this  divinely 
instituted  Church  has  ever  ceased  to  exist,  to  be  operative, 
and  to  be  visible,  when  the  Spirit  of  Almighty  God  has  al- 
ways been  its  special  guardian  and  preserver.  When  Christ 
sent  His  apostolic  organization  among  the  nations  to  preach 
the  gospel.  He  told  them  of  the  dangers,  the  hardships,  and 
the  opposition  they  would  have  to  encounter  in  their  mis- 
sionary oj)erations  ;  but  He  urged  upon  them  the  necessity  of 
unity  of  faith  and  action,  and  an  avoidance  of  false  teachers, 
false  prophets,  and  false  doctrines.  Sustained  by  a  special  and 
divine  agency,  and  encouraged  by  the  positive  promise  of 
Jesus,  it  is  not  probable  that  these  men  would  become  fiilse 
teachers,  or  that  the  Church  committed  to  their  guardian- 
shij)  would  become  corrupted  or  perverted. 

Christ  and  His  apostolic  organization,  as  well  as  the 
ecclesiastical  organizations  appointed  and  ordained  by  the 
apostles  and  their  successors,  have  always  taught  and 
preached  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  personally.  They 
have  always  visited  the  heathen  in  person,  instructed  them 
in  person,  and  subjected  themselves  to  all  the  perils  incident 
to  the  true  missionary  career.  The  first  missions  of  Christ, 
of  St.  Paul,  St.  Barnabas,  St.  Thomas,  and  the  other  apostles, 
and  the  subsequent  missions  of  their  Catholic  successors  to  all 
parts  of  the  heathen  world,  have  been  conducted  on  precisely 
the  same  principles,  and  with  similar  happy  results.      The 


154  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

history  of  missions,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  demonstrates  conclusively  the  identity  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church  Avith  that  founded  by  Christ. 

After  His  resurrection  Christ  appeared  to  His  apostles 
and  saluted  them  thus:  "Peace  be  to  you.  As  the  Father 
hath  sent  3Ie,  I  also  send  you.  When  He  had  said  this,  He 
breathed  on  them;  and  He  said  to  them,  Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost ;  whose  sins  ye  shall  forgive,  they  are  forgiven 
them ;  and  whose  sins  ye  shall  retain,  they  are  retained."  * 
Afterward,  Avhen  the  apostles  were  assembled  together  to 
receive  His  final  instructions,  He  selected  from  their  number 
— not  Andrew,  or  Paul,  or  James,  or  Barnabas,  or  Matthew — 
but  Peter,  and  thus  addressed  him  :  "  Thou  art  Peter  ;  and 
upon  this  rock  will  I  build  My  Church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it ;  and  unto  thee,  Peter,  will  I  give 
tlie  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou 
shalt  bind  on  earth,  it  shall  be  bound  also  in  heaven ;  and 
whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth,  it  shall  be  loosed  also 
in  heaven,"  |  During  the  forty  days  which  elapsed  from  the 
resurrection  to  the  ascension  of  the  Saviour,  He  founded  His 
Churcli,  organized  His  apostles  into  an  ecclesiastical  socie- 
ty of  ministers  and  missionaries,  with  Peter  as  its  head, 
"  opened  their  under staiidings  that  they  might  understand  the 
Scriptures ^^"^  J  and  then  gave  them  their  final  instructions  as 
follows:  "All  things  whatsoever  I  have  heard  of  My  Father 
I  have  made  known  to  you."  §  "  As  the  Father  hath  sent 
Me,  I  also  send  you."  ||  "  Going,  therefore,  teach  all  nations  ; 
.  .  .  teachins:  them  to  observe  all  thins^s  whatsoever  I  have 
commanded  you."  ^  "  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized 
shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  con- 
demned."** "He  that  hcaretli  yon,  heareth  Me;"ff  and 
"If  he  will  nbt  hear  the  Church,  let  him  be  to  thee  as  the 
heathen  and  the  publican."  IJ 

*  John  XX.  21-23.  f  Matt.  xvi.  18,  19. 

X  Luke  xxiv.  45.  §  John  xv.  15. 

II  John  XX.  21.  ^  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

**  Mark  xvi.  16.  ft  Luke  x.  16. 

XX  Matt,  xviii.  11. 


THE   CUUKCII   rOU2sDED   BY    CIIKIST,    ETC.  155 

Here  we  have  a  divinely  instituted  Church,  a  divinely 
appointed  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  a  definite  code  of 
iniStrnetions  from  Jesus  Himself. 

After  the  ascension,  the  inspired  apostles  and  their  author- 
ized disciples  assumed  the  executive  control  of  the  Church, 
gradually  extended  and  i^erfected  its  organization,  and  dis- 
persed themselves  among  the  nations  as  bishops,  priests, 
missionaries,  and  teachers.  These  inspired  men  fully  appre- 
ciated the  importance  of  the  unity  of  the  Church,  and  of  an 
authorized  society  of  ministers  to  interpret  the  Scriptures, 
teach  their  doctrines,  preserve  all  the  written  and  unwrit- 
ten records  relating  to  the  mission  of  Christ,  and  to  act  as 
representatives  and  pastors  of  Christ  on  earth.  Alluding  to 
this  Church,  St,  Paul  terms  it  "  the  Church  of  the  living 
God,  wdiich  is  the  pillar  and  ground  of  truth."  *  That  the 
guardianship  of  this  Church  and  the  integrity  of  its  doc- 
trines were  committed  to  the  ecclesiastical  organization,  is 
evident  from  the  following  extracts :  "  ISTo  prophecy  of  Scrip- 
ture is  of  private  interpretation."  f  "He  that  heareth  you 
heareth  Me."  J  "  Remember  your  prelates  who  have  spoken 
the  word  of  God  to  you ;  to/iose  faith  folloioP  §  "  For  the 
lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge,  and  they  shall  seek 
the  law  at  his  mouth ;  because  he  is  the  angel  of  the  Lord  of 
hosts."  H  "  Obey  your  2:)relates,  and  be  subject  to  them  ;  for 
they  Avatch,  as  being  to  render  an  account  of  your  souls."  ^ 
"Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  higher  powers ;  for  there  is  no 
power  but  from  God ;  and  those  that  are,  are  ordained  of  God ; 
and  they  that  resist  purchase  to  themselves  damnation."  ** 
"  And  the  things  which  thou  hast  heard  of  me  by  many  wit- 
nesses, the  same  commend  to  faithful  men,  who  shall  be  fit 
to  teach  others  also."  ft  -^"^^  when  Paul  gave  Titus  his  in- 
structions, he  said  to  him :  "  For  this  cause  I  left  thee  in  Crete 
that  thou  shouldst  ordain  priests  in  every  city,  as  I  also 

*  1  Tim.  iii.  15.  f  2  Pet.  i.  20. 

X  Luke  X.  16.  §  Heb.  xviii.  7,  17. 

I  Mai.  ii.  Y.  1  Hcb.  xiii.  17. 

**  Rom.  xiii.  1,2.  f  f  2  Tim.  ii.  2. 


156  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

appointed  tliee."  *  "  For  Christ,  therefore,  we  are  ambassa- 
dors, God  as  it  were  exhorting  by  ns."  f  "  The  Holy  Ghost 
hath  appointed  you  bishops  to  rule  the  Church  of  God."  J 

St.  Ignatius,  a  personal  friend  and  companion  of  several 
of  the  apostles,  enjoined  upon  the  people  the  following  du-r 
ties:  "Be  subject  to  your  bishops  as  to  Jesus  Christ.  Fol- 
low your  bishop  as  Jesus  Christ  the  Father;  the  presbytery 
as  the  apostles ;  reverence  the  deacons  as  the  ordinance  of 
God."  This  father  was  a  pupil  and  intimate  friend  of  St. 
James  the  apostle,  and  had  listened  to  the  preaching  of  sev- 
eral other  apostles.  Is  it  likely  that  he  was  mistaken  in  his 
ideas*  of  the  Christian  priesthood,  or  in  the  nature  of  the 
sacerdotal  office  ? 

St.  Cyprian  thus  writes :  "  God  is  one,  and  Christ  is  one, 
and  the  Church  is  one,  and  the  choir  is  one,  founded  upon 
Peter  by  the  voice  of  the  Lord.  Another  altar  cannot  be 
erected,  or  another  priesthood  established,  excej^t  this  one 
altar  and  one  priesthood.  Whoever  gathers  elsewhere,  scat- 
ters. It  is  adulterous,  and  impious,  and  sacrilegious,  what- 
ever is  set  u]3  by  human  madness  to  violate  the  divine  insti- 
tution." § 

St.  Augustine  writes:  "Whoso  is  separated  from  the 
Catholic  Church,  however  laudably  he  thinks  he  is  living,  by 
this  crime  alone,  that  he  is  separated  from  Chrisfs  unity ^  he 
shall  not  have  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  in  him." 

St.  Clement,  the  third  pope  from  the  apostles,  says :  "  We 
received  the  gospel  from  the  apostles ;  they  were  sent  by 
Jesus  Christ ;  Jesus  Clirist  was  sent  by  God ;  and  both  hap- 
pened agreeably  to  the  will  of  God.  .  .  .  Our  apostles  knew, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  that  disputes  concerning  episcopacy 
would  arise  ;  vrlierefore  they  appointed  tho^^e  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  and  thus  establislied  the  series  of  future  succession, 
that  when  they  should  die,  other  approved,  men  might  enter 
on  their  ministry."  || 

*  Tit.  1-5.  f  2  Cor.  v.  20. 

X  Acts  XX.  28.  §  Ep.  xl. 

11  Aid  of  Cath.,  vol.  i.,  p.  15. 


THE   CnURCII    FOUNDED   BY   CHRIST,    ETC.  157 

Protestants  liave  ahvays  striven  to  make  improvements 
in  the  religion  of  tlie  early  fathers,  and  have  preferred  to  fol- 
low their  own  private  hypotheses,  rather  than  be  guided  by 
the  long-established  principles  of  those  who  received  their 
instructions  from  Christ  and  tlie  apostles.  Upon  this  subject 
St.  Vincent  of  Lirins  remarks  :  "But  jjeradventure  some  will 
say.  Shall  we  then  have  no  advancement  of  religion  in  the 
Church  of  Christ  ?  Surely  let  us  have  the  greatest  that  may 
he^  yet  in  such  sort  that  it  may  be  truly  an  increase  in  faith, 
and  not  a  change.'^'' 

In  committing  His  Church  to  the  special  care  of  the  apos- 
tles and  their  successors,  Christ  also  included  the  custody  of 
the  written  Scriptures,  the  unwritten  traditions,  and  all  of 
the  divine  ordinances  and  observances.  Thus,  after  His  last 
supper,  Jesus  said  to  His  apostles,  "  I  have  yet  many  things 
to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot  bear  them  now.  But  when 
He,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come.  He  will  teach  you  all  truth. 
For  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself;  because  He  shall  receive 
of  Mine,  and  shall  show  it  you."  '^  "  I  will  ask  the  Father, 
and  He  shall  give  you  another  Paraclete,  that  He  may  abide 
Avith  you  forever,  the  Spirit  of  truth.  .  .  .  He  shall  abide  with 
you,  and  shall  be  in  you."  f 

From  these  declarations  it  is  evident  that  Christ  estab- 
lished a  single  Church,  endowed  it  Avith  all  truth,  with  a 
single  and  definite  code  of  principles  and  observances,  and 
with  a  priesthood  who  were  to  be  its  special  guardians,  dis- 
pensers, and  i^erpetuators.  As  the  "written  Scriptures  were 
only  a  part  of  the  divine  legacy,  a  Church  and  an  authorized 
ecclesiastical  corporation  were  absolutely  necessary  to  secure 
the  preservation  and  the  integrity  of  the  unwritten  traditions, 
and  of  the  "many  other  things  which  Jesus  did,"  not  to  be 
found  in  books.  In  no  other  manner  could  all  the  sacred 
teachings  of  Jesus  have  been  preserved  and  transmitted 
through  so  many  centuries.  And  we  may  be  quite  certain 
that  the  holy  records  and  commandments  of  God  have  been 
preserved  within  the  Church  in  their  original  purity,  from 

*  John  xvi.  12-14.  f  John  xiv.  16,  lY. 


158  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tlie  fact  that  "  the  Spirit  of  truth  has  always  abided  in  it  and 
taught  it  all  truth  according  to  the  divine  promise."  This 
Heavenly  influeuce  has  undoubtedly  been  ever  present  in  the 
great  ecclesiastical  councils  of  the  Church,  to  aid  the  faithful 
ambassadors  of  Christ  in  their  efforts  to  exclude  error,  and 
to  preserve  the  truth ;  and  where  the  Spirit  of  truth  is,  error 
and  folsehood  fly  away. 

In  accordance  with  these  principles,  and  with  a  view  of 
preserving  the  unity  of  the  Church,  it  has  been  the  universal 
custom  to  refer  all  mooted  points  of  doctrine,  and  all  indi- 
vidual corruptions  and  abuses  within  the  Church,  to  ecclesi- 
astical councils.  These  councils  have  always  been  composed 
of  large  numbers  of  the  most  learned,  pious,  and  able  bishops 
and  prelates  of  the  world,  and  their  decisions  have  always 
been  regarded  as  authoritative.  Whenever  individuals  have 
endeavored  to  pervert  the  true  signification  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  to  found  sects  upon  these  perversions,  the  pontiffs  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  convening  ecclesiastical  councils  to  ex- 
amine, discuss,  and  correct  erroneous  conclusions,  and  to  de- 
fine and  jDreserve  in  their  canons  the  Christian  truths  as  they 
came  from  Jesus  Christ.  Thus  were  the  personal  innovations 
of  Montanus,  Donatus,  ISTovatian,  Arian,  and  a  host  of  early 
Protestants  disposed  of,  and  the  unity  of  the  Church  main- 
tained. 

The  advocates  of  private  interpretation,  and  of  what  has 
been  flippantly  termed  "freedom  of  conscience,"  tell  us  that 
every  man  is  competent  to  interj^ret  the  mysteries  of  the 
gospel ;  and,  therefore,  that  each  individual,  however  ignorant 
or  obtuse,  should  read  his  Bible,  anal^^ze  its  sacred  mysteries, 
boldly  cope  with  the  idiomatic  and  other  peculiarities  of  an 
Oriental  era,  of  ideas  originally  expressed  in  various  languages 
abounding  in  figures,  parables,  and  the  like,  and  then  form 
his  conclusions,  and  act  in  accordance  with  them.  Is  such  a 
course  calculated  to  secure  unity  of  faith,  harmony  among 
Christians,  uniformity  and  consistency  in  worship,  and  con- 
cert of  action  among  those  who  desire  to  build  up  the  Church 
of  the  livins:  God  ?     Let  the  innumei'able  and  confiictinsf  sects 


THE    CUURCU   F0UN1>ED   BY    CHRIST,    ETC.  159 

of  modern  Protestantism,  their  absurd  and  contradictory- 
tenets,  and  the  numerous  and  protracted  religious  wars 
among  the  sectarians  of  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and 
eighteenth  centuries  answer. 

The  great  masses  of  the  Christian  workl  are  endowed 
with  a  limited  amount  of  knowledge,  and  with  limited  intel- 
lectual capacities.  For  tlie  most  part  their  energies  are  ab- 
sorbed by  their  ordinary  worldly  pursuits,  so  that  they  have 
neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination  to  become  j^rivate  tlieolo- 
gians.  Practically,  therefore,  in  Protestant  countries,  they 
accept  a  IIuss,  a  Wickliffe,  a  Luther,  a  Calvin,  a  Wesley,  a 
Fox,  a  Henry  YIIL,  a  Voltaire,  a  Tom  Paine,  a  Strauss,  a 
Penan,  a  Theodore  Parker,  a  Joe  Smith,  or  a  Brigham  Young, 
as  their  interpreters  of  Holy  Writ,  and  enroll  themselves  under 
the  standard  of  some  one  of  these  creed-coiners.  In  this  man- 
ner they  become  passive  instruments  in  the  hands  of  these 
"  false  teachers,"  and  thus  contribute  to  impair  the  unity  of 
the  faith,  to  divide  and  distract  Christendom,  and  to  en- 
courage the  various  forms  of  infidelity.  Are  the  private  and 
individual  interjn'etations  of  these  leading  sectaries,  or  of 
their  ignorant  disciples,  to  be  regarded  as  authoritative, 
while  the  decisions  of  the  great  councils,  some  of  them  com- 
posed of  as  many  as  five  hundred  of  the  wisest  and  best  pre- 
lates of  the  world,  and  holding  their  sessions  for  years  in 
succession,  are  to  be  ignored  and  despised  ?  Surely  there 
can  be  but  few  men  so  lost  to  all  sense  of  honesty  and  decency 
as  to  claim  seriously  that  an  ignorant  laborer  is  as  capable 
of  interpreting  and  understanding  the  Holy  Bible  as  were 
the  three  hundred  and  eighteen  learned  fathers  of  Nice,  or 
the  five  hundred  of  Chalcedon,  or  the  three  hundred  of  Trent. 
What  have  been  the  results  of  this  authoritative  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  by  the  councils  of  the  Church  ?  Unity 
and  uniformity  of  faith,  of  ecclesiastical  organization,  of  wor- 
ship, and  in  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  religion.  And 
what  have  been  the  results  of  private  inspiration  and  private 
interpretation?  Innumerable  variations  of  religious  belief,  a 
vast  multiplication  of  conflicting  sects,  a  house  divided  against 


160  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

itself,  and  an  entire  lack  of  tliat  unity,  concord,  and  concert 
of  action  which  pertain  to  the  true  Church  of  God.  One 
of  many  facts  in  proof  of  this  position  consists  in  the  total 
failure  of  Protestant  missionary  enterprises  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  the  sad  results,  in  the  form  of  immorality,  decep- 
tion, crime,  and  general  decay,  which  have  almost  invariably 
attended  these  labors.  In  worldly  affairs  Protestants  never 
presume  to  act  without  competent  advice.  They  never  com- 
promise their  pecuniary  interests,  or  their  lives,  by  becoming 
their  own  private  interpreters  and  practitioners  of  law  or 
medicine.  Both  the  legal  and  the  medical  gospels  are  before 
them,  written  by  modern  authors,  in  clear  and  exj)licit  lan- 
guage ;  but  they  have  too  much  practical  common-sense  to 
attempt  their  interpretation,  preferring  always  to  employ  ex- 
pert lawyers  and  doctors,  to  accept  their  interpretations,  and 
to  act  in  accordance  with  their  advice.  Were  an  ignorant 
laborer  or  artisan  to  read  a  book  on  the  theory  and  practice  of 
medicine,  and  then  assume  the  medical  treatment  of  typhus 
or  cholera,  he  would  be  shut  uj)  in  a  mad-house,  or  indicted 
for  manslaughter.  Such  an  act  would  excite  the  indignation 
and  horror  of  every  right-minded  man ;  but  let  the  same 
person  turn  theologian,  and,  with  Bible  in  hand,  interpret 
the  mysteries  of  godliness,  and  prescribe  for  his  spiritual 
being,  and  his  assurance  is  winked  at,  and  his  decisions  are 
esteemed  legitimate  and  worthy  of  practical  adoption,  what- 
ever they  may  be.  ISTo  Protestant  will  presume  to  Assert 
that  Christ  established  more  than  one  Church,  more  than  one 
priesthood,  more  than  one  religious  code,  more  than  one  form 
and  mode  of  worship.  No  rational  j^orson  can  believe  that 
Christ  gave  a  general  permission  to  all  men  indiscriminately 
to  interpret  the  Scri2)turcs,  to  retain  or  to  reject  certain  por- 
tions, to  determine  what  traditions  are  true  and  what  false, 
and  upon  these  private  opinions  to  found  new  churches,  new 
priesthoods,  neio  creeds,  and  7iew  forms  of  worship.  No 
one  can  suppose  that  Christ  intended  that  there  should  be 
divisions,  wranglings,  and  distractions  in  Ilis  Church.  No 
one  ca.n  imagine  tliat  he  is  doing  God  service  by  aiding  in 


THE   CHURCH   FOUNDED   BY    CIIKIST,    ETC.  IGl 

the  destruction  of  Churcli  unity,  in  the  establishment  of  new 
sects,  and  in  presenting  to  the  world  the  sad  spectacle  of  the 
house  of  God  distracted,  perverted,  torn,  and  arrayed  against 
itself  Does  any  one  believe  that  Christ  filled  in  His  solemn 
promise  of  being  with  His  one  Church,  and  maintaining  it  in 
its  purity,  through  the  abiding  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
during  the  fifteen  hundred  years  preceding  the  wicked  inno- 
vations of  Luther  and  Calvin  ?  Did  the  Almighty  postpone 
the  development  of  His  grand  plan  of  redemption  imtil 
the  sixteenth  century,  waiting  for  Martin  Luther  to  be 
born,  in  order  to  unravel,  explain,  and  bring  into  practical 
operation  the  sacred  mysteries  which  Christ,  the  apostles, 
and  their  successors,  had  vainly  attempted  to  introduce  ? 
Were  the  holy  apostles,  the  ancient  fathers,  the  hosts  of 
martyrs,  and  the  Christian  missionaries  of  the  past,  failures? 
and  was  Christ's  Clmrch  hidden  under  a  bushel  until  the 
monk  of  Erfurth  dragged  Christianity  from  her  profound  sleep 
of  so  many  ages  under  the  form  and  designation — not  of 
Christianity,  not  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  not  of  catholicity — 
but  of  Lutheranism?  St.  Clement,  St.  Polycarp,  and  St. 
Ignatius,  were  pupils  of  the  apostles,  had  often  conversed 
with  them,  and  heard  them  preach.  These  men  recognized 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  as  the  only  Church  of  God,  the 
supremacy  of  tlie  Roman  bishop,  and  the  divine  authority  of 
the  ecclesiastical  body  to  act  as  conservators  and  inter^jreters 
of  the  written  and  unwritten  word  of  God.  Were  these 
friends  and  disciples  of  the  apostles  mistaken;  and  were  their 
successors  through  whom  these  truths  were  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation  for  so  many  centuries,  like  Saints 
Irenajus,  Origen,  Cyprian,  Cyril,  Hilary,  Basil,  Ambrose, 
Jerome,  Chrysostom,  Augustine,  Vincent,  and  a  host  of  other 
holy  fathers — were  they  all  mistaken,  and  was  the  light  of 
the  true  Church  latent  and  unproductive  from  the  days  of 
tlie  apostles  to  the  days  of  the  innovators,  and  was  it  re- 
served to  a  demon-inspired  Augustine  monk  of  the  sixteenth 
century  to  present  to  mankind  the  new  dispensation  which 
Jesus,  His  inspired  apostles,  and  their  successors  had  tried, 


1G2  cnmsTiANiTY  and  its  conflicts. 

but  failed  to  make  known  ?  Is  it  probable  tliat  the  Almighty 
Father  would  send  His  only-begotten  Son  to  earth,  to  an- 
nounce a  new  gospel,  and  to  found  a  Church,  and  then  to 
permit  an  organized  hierarchy  to  set  aside  this  gospel  and 
this  Church,  and  to  substitute  in  their  stead  a  false  religion 
and  a  false  church?  When  the  all-merciful  God  became  in- 
carnate on  earth,  and  suffered  and  died  to  atone  for  the  sins  of 
men,  is  it  probable  that  He  had  any  special  reference  to  Martin 
Luther,  John  Calvin,  or  John  of  Leyden,  or  John  Wesley,  or 
Tom  Paine,  or  other  modern  revolutionist,  in  the  consumma- 
tion of  the  grand  design  ?  If  so,  were  Luther's  interviews 
and  discussions  with  the  devil  at  the  Castle  of  Warburg,  or  his 
revels  at  the  "Black  Eagle  Tavern"  at  Guttenburg,  or  his 
violation  of  the  nun,  Catherine  Bore,  or  the  bloody  civil 
wars  he  incited  in  Germany  included  in  the  j)rogranime  ? 

Whoever  examines  thoroughly  and  fairly  the  legitimate 
doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Churcli,  as  inculcated  in  the  de- 
crees and  canons  of  the  great  ecclesiastical  Councils,  from 
Aries  to  Trent,  and  compares  them  with  those  taught  by 
Christ  and  His  apostles,  must  admit  their  identity  in  every 
thing  essential  to  salvation.  Such  an  examination  and  com- 
parison, impartially  and  boldly  conducted,  would  restore 
thousands  of  doubting  sectarians  into  the  fold  of  unity  and 
spii'itual  peace. 


CIIAPTEE  XIY. 

COMMOX  GROUNDS  OF  RELIGIOUS  FAITH. 

Oisr  many  occasions  Christ  and  His  inspired  apostles  al- 
luded to  the  vital  importance  of  unity  of  faith  and  of  Chris- 
tian worship,  and  to  the  great  dangers  which  would  ensue 
from  divisions  in  the  Church.  ,"\Ye  cite  a^  few  quotations  in 
illustration :  "  And  He  gave  some  apostles,  and  other  some 
pastors  and  doctors,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ, 
until  we  all  meet  into  the  unity  of  faith ; that  hence- 
forth we  be  no  more  children  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried 
about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine."  *  "  Now  I  beseech  you, 
brethren,  to  mark  them  who  cause  dissensions,  contrary  to 
the  doctrines  you  have  learned,  and  to  avoid  them."  f  St. 
'Pmil 2^i'0}ioimced  cmathema  "against  any  one,  even  against 
an  angel  from  heaven,  who  should  attempt  to  teach  any 
other  gospel  except  that  which  he  had  taught."  ;|;  Christ 
founded  a  single  Church,  with  "  one  Lord,  o?ie  fliith,  ojic 
baptism ; "  §  and  again,  "  there-  shall  be  07ie  fold,  and  ojie 
Shepherd ; "  ||  and  again,  "  we  being  many,  are  one  hody 
in  Christ : "  ^  and  as  a  warning  to  innovators,  our  Saviour 
asserts  that  "every  kimrdom  divided  agjainst  itself  shall  be 
made  desolate."** 

Numerous  other  extracts  might  be  cited  from  Holy  AYrit 

*•  Eph.  iv.  11-14.  f  Rom.  xvi.  lY.  %  Gal.  i.  8,  9. 

§  Eph.  iv.  5.  \  Matt.  xii.  25.  *}f  John  x.  15. 

**  Matt.  xii.  25. 


164  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    COISTFLICTS. 

to  the  same  piirioort,  but  we  have  presented  a  sufficient  num- 
ber to  demonstrate  the  necessity  of  unity  of  faith,  and  unity 
and  uniformity  of  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  of  reli- 
gious worship.  The  entire  spirit  and  end  of  Christ's  mis- 
sion was  to  present  mankind  Avith  a  new  religious  system, 
and  to  establish  a  Christian  organization  or  Church  as 
the  perj^etual  guardian  and  dispenser  of  His  sacred  truths. 
In  a  matter  of  such  vital  importance  to  the  welfare  of  the 
human  race,  our  Saviour  deemed  it  necessary  to  dwell  upon 
the  importance  of  unity  of  faith,  to  caution  His  disciples 
against  "false  teachers  and  fjxlse  prophets,  who  are  blown 
about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,"  "  who  are  led  away  with 
various  and  strange  doctrines,"  and  the  "  profane  novelties 
of  words,"  and  to  define  the  mode  through  which  the  unity 
and  integrity  of  the  Church  might  be  perpetually  main- 
tained. 

The  true  Christian  will  always  be  solicitous  for  the  honor 
and  glory  of  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  clo 
every  thing  in  his  j^ower  to  maintain  the  integrity  and  wel- 
fare of  the  universal  kino-dom  of  his  DiA'ine  Master.  He  will 
deprecate  dissensions  and  divisions  among  the  subjects  and 
soldiers  of  the  cross,  and  frown  down  the  efforts  of  men  who 
would  set  themselves  and  their  human  doctrines  up  in  the 
place  of  Christ  and  His  holy  precepts.  He  will  hold  fast  to 
the  doctrines  Avhich  the  Father  gave  to  our  Lord,  which  He 
gave  to  the  apostles,  and  they  to  their  successors  and  to  the 
Church.  In  the  formation  of  his  religious  opinions  he  will 
be  governed  by  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  His  apostles,  and 
those  holy  saints  and  martyrs  who  have  devoted  their  lives 
to  the  service  of  God,  and  some  of  whom  were  personally 
acquainted  with  our  Lord  and  the  apostles,  and  had  listened 
to  their  preachings.  He  will  put  far  from  him  all  filse 
teachers,  and  creed-coiners,  who  establish  new  and  private 
religions  for  the  gratification  of  personal  ambition  and  vanity, 
and  to  perpetuate  their  own  names.  He  will  always  remem- 
ber that  Christ  founded  only  a  single  Church,  and  that  the 
thousand  and  one  creeds  invented  by  the  vain  and  visionary 


CO:&rMON   GEOUNDS    OF   KELIGIOUS    FAITU.  165 

crced-coiners  of  the  world  are  only  devices  of  Satan  to  dis- 
tract the  faithful  and  impair  its  unity  and  catholicity.  These 
false  teachers,  and  their  dupes,  who  sow  their  tares  amidst 
the  wheat,  do  nndoubtedly  retard,  to  some  extent,  the  on  ward 
proi^ress  of  the  Church  to  universal  unity  and  catholicity; 
but,  ere  long,  their  impious  efforts  will  come  to  naught.  How- 
ever much,  therefore,  Satanic  influences  may  temporarily  dis- 
turb and  divide  the  Christian  world,  we  may  rest  assured  that 
in  the  end  all  private  creeds  of  man's  invention  will  be  extir- 
pated as  virulent  excrescences,  and  the  Churcli,  founded  on 
the  everlasting  rock  of  truth,  be  permanently  and  universally 
established. 

A  loyal  subject  honors  his  temporal  ruler,  loves  his  na- 
tionality, and  is  willing  to  fight  and  to  die  for  the  integrity, 
unity,  glory,  and  welfare  of  his  native  country.  The  true 
subject  and  soldier  of  God  should  be  no  less  anxious  and  de- 
voted to  the  integrity,  unity,  universality,  glory,  and  welfare 
of  that  Church  and  that  spiritual  kingdom  which  was  estab- 
lished by  the  Redeemer  of  the  world.  Bickerings,  conten- 
tions, envies,  jealousies,  and  strifes  should  not  prevail  that 
men  may  be  glorified,  and  human  names  and  human  hypothe- 
ses be  received  with  honors  which  belong  only  to  God  and 
His  sacred  doctrines. 

But,  inquires  the  doubter,  how  shall  we  decide  where 
that  Church  is,  and  by  what  marks  can  we  recognize  it 
amonsc  the  numerous  and  discordant  churches  of  the  world? 

To  this  pertinent  query  we  respond  that  there  are  infliUi- 
ble  marks  by  w^hich  it  may  be  recognized :  1.  That  Church 
whose  tenets  and  practices  are  identical  with  those  inculcated 
by  Christ  and  His  apostles  must  be  the  true  Clmrch.  2.  That 
Church  which  received  its  doctrines  directly  from  Christ,  His 
apostles,  and  the  bishops  and  priests  appointed  and  ordained 
by  them,  must  of  necessity  be  the  true  Church.  3.  That 
Cluirch  which  has  maintained  uninterruptedly  and  purely  its 
unity,  its  catholicity,  and  its  succession  of  bishops,  from  St. 
Peter  to  the  present  Bishop  of  Rome,  must  b^  the  true  Cliurch. 
4.  That  Church  which  alone  has  existed  from  the  time  of  its 


160  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CO]S^rLICTS. 

foundatiou  by  our  Lord  to  the  present  day — ahvays  visible, 
never  latent,  never  vanquished,  never  inoperative — must  be 
the  true  Church. 

All  of  these  distinguishing  marks  pertain  exclusively  to 
the  Catholic  Church. 

Let  us  all,  then,  become  loyal  subjects  of  the  King  of 
kings — Christians  in  thought,  word,  and  deed — and  as  such, 
banish  pride,  prejudice,  error,  and  the  delusive  inventions  of 
men,  and,  becoming  as  little  children,  receive  the  authoritative 
truths  of  Christianity  with  faith  and  humility.  From  the 
common  ground  upon  which  all  Christians  stand,  let  us  seek 
for  unity,  universal  brotherhood,  harmony,  identity  of  doc- 
trine and  faith,  and  active  and  efficient  cooperation  in  pro- 
mulgating the  truths  of  Christianity  to  the  whole  world. 

A  belief  in  one  and  the  same  personal  God,  composed  of 
the  Father,  of  His  only-begotten  Son  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
conceived  and  born  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  emanating  from  the  Father  and  Son,  is  almost 
universal  among  Christian  sects.  Although  the  fact  of  the 
unity  of  the  three  Persons  in  one  God,  identical  in  spirit  and 
purpose,  and  equal  in  power  and  glory,  is  a  mystery  incom- 
prehensible to  mortals,  yet  there  are  but  few  at  the  present 
time  who  entertain  the  slightest  doubt  of  the  great  and  di- 
vine truth.  How  strono;  should  be  the  bond  of  union  be- 
tween  those  who  believe  in  and  worship  the  same  Almighty 
benefactor,  who  continually  derive  blessings  from  His  infinite 
love,  and  who  hope  to  enjoy  His  smiles  in  the  eternal  world  ! 
How  earnest  should  be  the  efforts  of  such  believers  to  culti- 
vate unity  of  sentiment  and  faith,  and  to  unite  the  whole 
world^in  one  brotherhood  of  Christians  ! 

The  belief  is  almost  universal  that  Christ  came  upon  the 
earth,  clothed  Himself  in  a  human  form,  preached,  taught, 
ministered,  suffered,  and  was  crucified  for  the  redemption  of 
fallen  man.  This  incarnation,  or  visible  manifestation  of 
God  on  earth  in  Jesus  Christ,  was  an  act  of  infinite  mercy 
and  love ;  and  its  contemplation  should  always  fire  the  heart 
of  the  Christian  with  ardent  devotion  toward  the  infinite 


COilMON    GKOrNDS    OF   EELIGIOUS   FAITH.  167 

Fountain  of  love  and  goodness.  It  would  be  a  difficult  mat- 
ter to  find  a  real  Christian  who  has  not  implicit  faith  in  the 
atonement. 

A  belief  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  com- 
mon to  all  Christians.  The  remarkable  wisdom  of  a  book 
written  so  many  centuries  ago,  and  the  wonderful  purity, 
truthfulness,  beneficence,  love,  and  goodness  wliicli  beam 
forth  from  every  page,  forever  stamped  it  as  the  word  of 
God.  This  divine  gospel,  in  conjunction  with  the  sacred 
traditions  handed  down  from  the  apostles,  are  practically 
recognized  as  their  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  by  nearly  every 
sect  in  Christendom. 

All  sects  believe  in  the  ten  commandments,  in  the  Lord's 
prayer,  and  in  the  necessity  of  a  continual  observance  of 
them.  They  acknowledge  that  these  commandments  came 
directly  from  God,  and  were  confirmed  by  Christ  in  the 
new  dispensation.  Not  only  the  divine  origin  of  these  sacred 
injunctions  is  recognized  by  the  entire  Christian  world,  but 
the  duty  of  heeding  them  in  order  to  secure  happiness  here 
and  hereafter.  Founded  on  principles  of  love  and  obedience 
to  God,  love  to  man,  and  strict  justice  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  they  constitute  a  moral  and  social  code  of  surpassing 
simplicity,  power,  and  comprehensiveness.  These  precepts 
require  both  faith  and  practice  in  order  to  render  them  effi- 
cacious ;  for  the  Lord  will  not  hold  him  guiltless  who  violates 
the  least  of  them.  Here,  again.  Catholics  and  Protestants 
stand  on  common  gi'ound.  On  this  ground  we  find  supreme 
love  and  devotion  to  God,  reverence  for  His  holy  name,  re- 
spect for  the  Sabbath,  for  parents,  and  an  avoidance  of  any 
injury  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  toward  our  fellow-men. 

Another  of  the  divine  injunctions  was  a  2)erpctual  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  prayer.  As  Christ  Himself  dictated  this 
prayer  to  His  disciples,  no  one  has  yet  been  sufficiently  pre- 
sumptuous to  ptrotest  against  it,  and  to  substitute  a  reformed 
Lutheran  or  a  Calvinistic  prayer  in  its  stead.  It  still  re- 
mains, therefore,  as  a  common  ground  of  faith  and  practice 
for  Protestants  as  well  as  Catholics. 


168  CHRISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Every  sincei'e  Christian  believes  in  the  necessity  of  re- 
pentance for  sins  committed,  and  in  reformation,  in  order  to 
secure  happiness  here  and  liereafter.  The  silent  voice  of 
conscience  continually  admonishes  all  men  of  these  vital 
and  essential  truths;  and  even  when  human  sophistry  and 
skepticism  cast  their  gossamer  veils  before  the  never-sleeping 
eye  of  conscience,  the  great  fact  is  still  recognized,  still  ap- 
preciated. 

All  Christians  agree  as  to  the  importance  of  meeting  to- 
gether on  the  Sabbath,  and  other  appointed  days,  for  the 
worship  of  God  ;  and  that  it  is  not  only  eminently  propei*, 
but  obligatory  on  the  part  of  the  finite  creature  to  honor 
and  glorify  in  every  suitable  manner  the  Infinite  Creator. 

Nearly  every  sect  believes  in  and  practises  baptism,  be- 
cause Christ  has  declared  that  "  unless  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  the  Holy  Spirit  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven ; "  and  because  they  have  as  exemplars  the  Redeemer, 
His  holy  apostles,  and  their  disciples  and  successors. 

These  common  grounds  of  religious  faith  include  every 
thing  essential  to  salvation.  From  the  time  of  the  apostles 
to  the  present  moment,  they  have  been  the  grand  fundamental 
principles  of  the  Catholic  Church.  At  all  periods  of  tlie 
Christian  era,  and  among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  her 
prelates  and  missionaries  have  nailed  these  divine  precej)ts  to 
the  cross,  and  under  this  blessed  symbol  have  fought  the  bat- 
tles of  Christianity  agains  the  cultivated  pagans  of  the  Roman 
empire,  the  barbaric  Goths,  Vandals,  Huns,  Lombards,  and 
Saracens  of  the  middle  ages,  the  Brahmins  and  Pariahs 
of  India  and  Ceylon,  the  Buddhists  of  China  and  Japan, 
and  the  unenlighted  natives  of  North  and  South  America, 
and  the  sava2:e  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Faith  in  one 
Infinite  and  personal  God,  in  the  Trinity,  in  the  incarnation, 
in  the  atonement,  in  baptism,  in  repentance,  confession  and 
reformation  of  sin,  in  the  ten  commandments,  in  the  Lord's 
prayer,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures,  have  been  the  w^atchwords 
and  governing  princij^les  of  the  Church  at  all  times  and  un- 
der all  circumstances.     Tlirough  these  immutable  doctrines 


COMMON   GROUNDS   OF   KELIGIOUS   FAITH.  169 

her  unity  has  ever  been  maintainecl,  and  her  supernatural 
triumj^hs  in  heathen  Lands  been  sustained.  Endowed  with 
these  divine  truths,  and  always  sustained  by  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
she  has  kept  steadily  on  her  way  toward  her  destined  goal — 
eternity  and  heaven.  In  bygone  ages  storms  and  tempests 
have  raged  around  her,  dangers  have  beset  her  on  every  hand, 
and  the  powers  of  darkness  have  been  leagued  against  lier,  but 
the  hand  of  her  Founder  has  always  held  her  up,  and  directed 
her  heavenward.  On  these  conceded  principles  all  Christen- 
dom can  consistently  stand  in  unity  and  harmony ;  all  can 
achieve  salvation ;  all  can  cooperate  in  establishing  among 
all  nations  the  true  Church  in  accordance  with  the  design 
and  instructions  of  the  Redeemer. 

The  coincidences  between  the  Roman,  Greek,  dnd  Angli- 
can Churches  are  more  evident  than  those  which  pertain  to 
other  sects;  and  a  critical  examination  of  the  subject  will 
demonstrate  the  fact,  beyond  all  question,  that  the  separation 
of  the  two  latter  from  the  parent  Church  of  Rome  was  en- 
tirely due  to  political  causes^  and  personal  amhition  avA  self- 
ishness. 

Thus,  1.  The  Roman,  Greek,  and  Anglican  believers  oc- 
cupy the  same  ground,  in  so  far  as  they  have  all  taken  the 
same  views  substantially  of  the  Church,  its  authority,  and  its 
unbroken  continuity. 

2.  They  all  (in  contradistinction  to  the  subjective  system 
of  Protestantism)  uphold  a  system  of  priesthood  and  sacra- 
ments, because  they  all  think  alike  respecting  the  incarnation 
of  the  Son  of  God. 

3.  They  all  have  an  historic  past,  and  make  much  of  his- 
toric Christianity. 

4.  The  Nicene,  or  Constantinopolitan  creed,  is  the  com- 
mon symbol  of  the  three  communions. 

5.  The  public  worship  of  the  three  churches  is  celebrated 
liturgically. 

6.  They  all,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  cherish  and  make 
much  of  the  aesthetic  principle  in  the  public  services;  c.  g.^ 
by  the  use  of  vestments,  hghts,  incense,  flowers,  pictures, 


170  CnPJSTlANITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

images,  etc. ;  also,  by  decent  and  edifying  ceremonies,  atti- 
tudes, postures,  etc. 

7.  They  all  yield  a  profound  deference  to  the  consent  of 
fathers  and  doctors,  and  to  universal  Christian  consciousness. 

8.  They  all  maintain  that  the  collective  voice  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  especially  as  expressed  in  general  council, 
is  infallible. 

9.  They  all  insist  on  the  truth  that  canonical  Scripture 
not  merely  contains,  but  is,  the  word  of  God. 

10.  Objective  universal  tradition  is  a  governing  and 
swaying  authority  with  them  all. 

11.  They  all  believe  that  the  finally  impenitent — those 
dying  in  mortal  sin — will  be  turned  into  hell,  there  to  under- 
go everlasting  punishment. 

12.  They  all  believe  Mary,  ever  virgin,  to  be  the  mother 
of  God. 

Dr.  E'ewman  specifies  the  .following  fundamentals  as  com- 
mon to  both  the  Roman  and  Anglican  systems :  "  In  both 
systems  the  same  creeds  are  acknowledged.  Besides  other 
points  in  common,  v/e  both  hold  that  certain  doctrines  are 
necessary  to  be  believed  for  salvation ;  we  both  believe  in 
the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  incarnation,  and  atonement; 
in  original  sin ;  in  the  necessity  of  regeneration ;  in  the  super- 
natural grace  of  the  sacraments;  in  the  apostolic  succession; 
in  the  obligation  of  faith  and  obedience,  and  in  the  eternity 
of  future  punishment."  * 

The  subjects  against  which  all  Protestant  sects  object 
are : 

1.  The  invocation  of  saints,  and  the  veneration  of  relics, 
sacred  images,  and  pictures. 

2.  Auricular  confession. 

3.  The  supremacy  of  the  pope. 

4.  The  doctrine  of  purgatory. 

5.  To  the  Tridentine  definition  of  the  mode  of  Christ's 
presence  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar. 

6.  The  enforced  celibacy  of  the  priesthood. 

*  Prof.  Office,  pp.  55,  56. 


COMMON   GROUNDS    OF   RELIGIOUS    FAITU.  171 

1.  To  the  use  of  a  dead  language  in  the  j^ublic  ministra- 
tions. 

8.  To  the  withdrawal  of  the  cup  from  the  laity. 

9.  To  the  forms,  ceremonies,  and  festivals  of  the  Church. 

10.  To  indulgences. 

We  shall  present,  further  on,  a  brief  outline  of  the  ac- 
tual opinions  of  the  Church  upon  the  principal  points  of 
doctrine  and  discij^line,  as  established  by  her  authorized  de- 
crees and  canons,  with  a  view  of  refuting  the  gross  misre]Dre- 
sentations  of  Protestants,  and  of  demonstrating  the  specious- 
ncss  and  triviality  of  the  pretexts  urged  by  ancient  and 
modern  innovators  for  dividing,  distracting,  and  seceding 
from  the  Church. 

Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  all  of  the  grand  councils  of 
the  Church,  from  Nice  to  Trent,  have  included  all  the  es- 
sential elements  of  the  Catholic  faith  in  four  divisions,  viz., 
the  Apostles  Creed,  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  the  Seven  Sacraments.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how  any  true  Christian,  who  really  desires  unity,  harmony, 
and  efficiency  in  the  Church,  and  who  is  solicitous  for  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  his  fellow-creatures,  can  refuse  bis  cordial 
assent  to  these  four  fundamental  divisions. 

We  regard  the  fact  that  all  sects  of  Cbj-istians  entertain 
similar  ojDinions  upon  these  vital  points  of  doctrine  as  one  of 
momentous  import.  This  similarity  of  belief  is  almost  en- 
tirely unknown  and  unap2)reciatcd  by  Protestants,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  long-continued  and  wicked  misrepresentations 
of  sectarians  respecting  the  tenets  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
These  misrepresentations,  and  these  sectarian  perversions, 
pervade  every  class  of  Protestant  society.  They  are  taught 
in  schools,  in  colleges,  in  churches,  in  books,  in  pamphlets,  and 
are  propagated  by  preachers,  missionaries,  and  even  legis- 
lators. It  ever  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  aim  of  Protestantism 
to  distract,  divide,  and  set  at  variance  Christians.  Any  bold 
and  eloquent  man,  who  chooses  to  regard  himself  as  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  no  matter  what  moral  or  mental  per- 
versities he  may  possess,  may,  under  Protestant   custom, 


172  CDEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

draw  up  Ms  own  religious  articles  of  faith,  establish  a  new 
sect,  christen  it  with  his  own  name,  surround  himself  with 
thousands  of  deluded  disciples,  and  thus  launch  on  the  ocean 
of  life  his  schismatic  craft.  It  is  through  this  unwarranted 
and  wanton  exercise  of  private  judgment  and  personal  am- 
bition that  the  Christian  world  is  now  distracted,  divided, 
and  cursed  witli  its  thousand  sects.  Instead  of  recognizing 
and  appreciatmg  continually  these  fundamental  princij)les 
of  religion,  and  of  striving  to  enlist  all  men  as  brethren 
under  one  holy  banner,  these  men  are  "led  away  with 
various  and  strange  doctrines,"  *  destructive  to  that  Chris- 
tian unity,  fraternity,  harmony,  and  concert  of  action  so  es- 
sential to  the  j)ropagation  and  welfare  of  religion. 

So  far,  then,  as  three  out  of  the  four  divisions  to  which  we 
have  alluded  are  concerned,  all  Christians  stand  on  common 
ground,  and  from  this  stand-point  they  can  sincerely  regard 
each  other  as  brethren  and  co-workers  in  the  same  cause. 

We  come  now  to  the  fourth  grand  division  of  the  fathers 
of  Trent,  viz.,  the  seven  sacraments.  These  sacraments  were 
ordained  by  Christ  and  His  apostles  as  special  means  of  grace, 
to  enable  the  Christian  to  perform  the  duties  enjoined  in  the 
first  three  divisions.  These  means  of  grace,  these  divinely 
instituted  auxiliaries,  were  established  by  our  Saviour  as  the 
mode  and  the  only  mode  by  which  His  precepts  could  be  ob- 
served and  His  commands  obeyed. 

Men  are  so  sinful  by  nature,  so  wedded  to  pride,  ambi- 
tion, licentiousness,  covetousness,  luxury,  pomj?,  and  worldly 
applause,  that  it  is  impossible  for  them  to  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God  in  sincerity  and  truth,  except  through  the 
agency  of  these  very  means  of  grace.  Without  the  special 
graces  communicated,  and  the  restrai-nts  imposed  by  these 
sacraments,  men  cannot  and  will  not  curb  their  passions  and 
their  worldly  desires ;  and  it  was  probably  with  direct  refer- 
ence to  this  sinful  and  perverse  nature  that  they  v\^ere  given 
us.  So  essential  were  they  regarded  by  our  Saviour,  to  en- 
able men  to  work  out  their  own  salvation,  and  to  resist  the 

*  Heb.  xiii.  9. 


COM]SION   GROUNDS   OF   RELIGIOUS   FAITH.  173 

evil  influences  of  their  own  natures,  and  the  temptations  of 
the  evil  one,  that  He  positively  commanded  their  observance 
by  all  Christians. 

If  we  examine  critically  the  sacraments  even  from  a  phil- 
osophical point  of  view,  we  shall  not  fail  to  be  impressed 
with  their  vast  importance  in  aiding  men  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments, and  to  subdue  their  selfish  passions  and  propen- 
sities. Without  the  blessings  bestowed,  and  the  restraints 
imposed  by  their  observance,  we  verily  believe  that  men 
would  degenerate  continually. 

We  have  shown  that  the  fundamental  and  essential  ele- 
ments of  Christianity  are  held  by  nearly  every  sect  in  Chris- 
tendom, that  these  princij^les  comprise  every  thing  essential 
to  salvation,  and  that  the  points  which  have  been  protested 
against  and  dissented  from,  were  not  such  as  to  justify  seces- 
sion from  the  Church,  and  attempts  to  destroy  its  unity  and 
harmony.  Even  Luther  coincides  in  this  opinion,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
Miltitz,  the  legate  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  who  was  sent  to  remon- 
strate with  him  on  his  innovations.  Luther  proclaims  the 
Church  of  Rome  "as  honored  of  God  above  all  others;  in  her 
two  apostles,  forty-six  popes,  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
martyrs  who  had  shed  their  blood,  and  made  her  an  especial 
object  of  God's  regard ;  that  lohatsoever  of  evil  there  might  he 
in  hei\  could  never  justify  separation  from  her^  for  God  must 
not  be  abandoned  on  account  of  the  devil,  neither  is  there 
any  sin  or  evil  which  should  destroy  charity  or  break  unity." 
In  future  chapters  we  shall  prove  that  the  pretexts  of  all 
the  Protestant  innovators  of  the  Christian  era  have  been 
frivolous. 

Let  us  now  glance  at  a  few  of  the  observances  of  tlie 
Catholic  Church  to  which  the  sects  object,  and  examine  the 
grounds  of  objection. 


CHAPTER   XY. 

ON  THE  INVOCATION  OF  SAINTS,  AND   ON  SACRED  IMAGES 

AND  PICTURES. 

One  of  the  most  common  errors  of  Protestants  consists 
in  the  supposition  that  the  Catholic  Church  sanctions  and 
permits  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Maiy  and  other  saints  in 
heaven.  This  error  has  been  so  industriously  promulgated, 
that  the  great  mass  of  the  opponents  of  Catholicism  really  be- 
lieve that  the  same  divine  worship  and  adoration  which  belongs 
alone  to  God,  is  also  given  to  the  blessed  Virgin.  This,  like 
many  other  popular  fallacies,  has  created  unfair  and  undeserved 
prejudices  and  opposition  on  the  jDart  of  our  antagonists.  Al- 
most daily  the  query  is  propounded,  "How  can  you  worship 
the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  saints  and  angels  ?  How  can  you 
supplicate  them  for  aid,  instead  of  appealing  directly  to  God 
and  to  Christ  ?  How  can  you  invoke  them  to  assist  you,  and 
manifest  toward  them  love,  gratitude,  and  respect,  when  our 
Saviour  has  declared  that  there  is  only  one  Mediator  between 
God  and  man,  Jesus  Christ?" 

We  respond  to  these  queries  by  briefly  indicating  the 
actual  doctrines  and  practice  of  the  Poman  Church  u23on  this 
point. 

We  believe  that  to  God — to  the  Holy  Trinity — to  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost — alone  belong  the  supreme  wor- 
ship and  adoration  of  mortals.  We  believe  that  God  alone 
is  the  infinite  Fountain  of  knowledge,  power,  love,  truth, 
and  goodness,  and  that    every  blessing,  every   endowment, 


ON  THE   INTOCATION   OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  175 

every  gift,  and  every  benefit  pertaining  to  all  the  saints  and 
angels  in  heaven,  and  to  mortals  on  earth,  are  derived  exclu- 
sively and  solely  from  Him.  We  believe  that  the  only 
Mediator  between  God  and  man  is  oar  Saviour ;  because  He 
was  sent  hj  the  Father  to  earth  to  become  incarnate,  to  teach 
the  sacred  truths  of  religion,  to  suffer,  and  to  be  crucified  for 
the  express  purpose  of  making  an  atonement  for  the  sins  of 
men,  and  thus  of  becoming  their  Mediator.  Christ,  therefore, 
is  the  only  Mediator  betAvecn  God  and  man;  and  angels, 
saints,  and  mortals,  always  address  Him,  adore  Him,  worship 
Him,  and  pray  to  Him  as  such. 

But  does  this  fact  preclude  the  sinner  from  asking  his 
pastor  to  pray  to  Christ  for  the  pardon  of  his  sins  ?  When 
the  sinner  is  prostrated  physically  and  mentally  by  disease, 
may  he  not  call  upon  his  minister,  or  upon  a  Christian  friend 
to  pray  for  him,  and  may  not  such  prayers  be  efficacious  and 
acceptable  to  God  ?  Do  not  the  Holy  Scriptures  repeatedly 
command  us  to  pray  for  one  another  ?  and  do  they  not  de- 
clare that  the  "prayers  of  the  righteous  availeth  much?" 

When  the  Protestant  pastor  prays  to  God  or  to  Christ 
for  pardon,  forgiveness,  and  a  blessing  for  one  of  his  flock 
who.  may  be  sick,  and  weak  in  mind  and  bodj'-,  he  surely 
does  not  assume  to  himself  the  office  of  mediator  between 
God  and  man,  but  he  acts  the  part  of  a  humble  suppliant 
imploring  the  Almighty  in  behalf  of  a  sinful  brother.  The 
whole  Christian  Avorld  recognizes  the  propriety  and  utility 
of  such  prayers,  and  no  one  supposes  that  the  pastor  or  the 
Christian  friend  usurps  any  of  the  attributes  or  the  preroga- 
tives of  our  divine  Master. 

In  like  manner  the  Catholic  requests  his  priest  to  pray  for 
him.  But  he  does  not  stop  here,  he  even  ventures  to  ask 
the  mother  of  Jesus  herself  to  pray  for  him,  and  also  the 
angels  and  saints  in  heaven. 

If  the  prayers  of  a  clergyman  or  a  Christian  on  earth  may 
be  acceptable  to  God,  and  answered  by  Him  in  behalf  of  au 
erring  brother,  why  may  not  the  prayers  of  the  angels  and 
saints,  and  especially  of  the  mother  of  our  Saviour,  be  accept- 


1Y6  CHEISTIANITY  AND  ITS   CONFLICTS. 

able  in  His  sight,  and  responded  to  by  Him  ?  The  following 
passages  from  the  sacred  Scriptures  demonstrate  that  on 
diverse  occasions  the  prayers  of  angels  and  saints  in  behalf 
of  mortals  have  been  heard  and  answered  by  God,  viz. : 

"  There  shall  be  joy  before  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  doing  penance." '-' 

"  When  thou  didst  pray  with  tears,  and  didst  leave  thy 
dinner,  and  didst  bury  the  dead,  X  offered  thy  j)rayer  to  the 
Lord.  .  .  .  For  I  am  the  angel  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  who 
stand  before  the  Lord."  \ 

The  proj^het  Jeremias,  long  after  his  death,  j^rayed  for  the 
l^eople ;  thus :  "  This  is  a  lover  of  his  brethren,  and  of  the 
people  of  Israel;  this  is  he  ^h^X  prayetli  muck  for  the  people^ 
and  for  all  the  holy  city,  Jeremias  the  prophet  of  God."  \ 

"  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  answered  and  said  :  O  Lord 
of  hosts,  how  long  wilt  thou  not  have  mercy  on  Jerusalem 
and  on  the  cities  of  Judah  with  which  Thou  hast  been  angry  ? 
— this  is  now  the  seventieth  year.  And  the  Lord  answered 
the  angel  that  spoke  in  me  good  w^orcls,  comfortable  words. .  . 
Therefore,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  return  to  Jerusalem  in 
mercies."  § 

"And  I  saw  seven  angels  standing  in  the  presence  of 
God.  .  .  .  And  another  angel  came,  and  stood  before  the  altar, 
having  a  golden  censer;  and  there  was  given  to  him  much 
incense,  that  he  should  offer  of  the  prayers  of  all  saints  u|)on 
the  golden  altar,  which  is  before  the  throne  of  God.  And 
the  smoke  of  the  incense  of  the  prayers  of  the  saints  ascended 
up  before  God  from  the  hand  of  the  angel."  || 

"  Jacob  prevailed  over  the  angel,  and  w^as  strengthened  ; 
he  wept,  and  'inade  supplicatlo7i  to  him.''''  ^ 

To  the  angel  who  was  going  to  destroy  Sodom,  Abraham 
prayed  that  "  he  would  not  slay  the  just  wdth  the  wicked."  ** 
In  consequence  of  this  prayer.  Lot  was  spared. 

Lot  also  prayed  the  same  angel  to  spare  Segor.  "  And  he 

*  Luke  XV.  10.  f  Tobias  xii.  12,  15.  %  2  Mac.  xiv.  14. 

§  Zacb.  i.  12,  13,  IG.        \  Apoc.  viii.  2-4.  ^  Osee  xii,  4. 

**  Gen.  xviii.  23,  25. 


ON   THE    m VOCATION    OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  177 

(the  angel)  said  to  him,  Behold  also  in  this,  I  have  heard 
thy  prayers  not  to  destroy  the  city  for  which  thou  hast 
spoken."  * 

On  his  death-bed  Jacob  prayed  thus :  "  God  that  fecdeth 
me  from  my  youth  until  this  day ;  the  angel  that  delivereth 
me  from  all  evils,  bless  these  boys,  and  let  my  name  be 
called  upon  them."  f  The  Scriptures  contain  many  other  al- 
lusions to  the  influence  of  angels  in  human  affairs;  and  a  be- 
lief in  them  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the  Catholics.  Thus 
David  says : 

"  He  hath  given  His  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep 
thee  in  all  thy  ways.  In  their  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  up, 
lest  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone."  J  Also  Christ  as 
follows :  "  See  that  you  despise  not  one  of  these  little  ones ; 
for  I  say  to  you  that  their  angels  in  heaven  always  see  the 
face  of  My  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  § 

"  The  angel  of  the  Lord  shall  encamp  round  about  them 
that  fear  Him,  and  shall  deliver  them."  || 

"As  the  Lord  liveth.  His  angel  hath  been  my  keeper, 
both  going  hence,  and  abiding  there,  and  returning  from 
thence  hither."  ^ 

"Behold  I  will  send  My  angel,  who  shall  go  before  thee, 
and  keep  thee  in  thy  journey.  .  .  .  Take  notice  of  him,  and 
hear  his  voice,  and  do  not  think  him  one  to  be  contemned ; 
for  he  will  not  forgive  when  thou  hast  sinned ;  and  My  name 
is  in  him."  ** 

The  Catholic  Church  everywhere  expressly  prohibits  every 
thing  like  divine  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  or  of  any  saint 
or  angel  in  heaven,  or  prayers  to  them  for  the  pardon  of 
sins.  Every  Catholic,  even  the  most  ignorant,  is  carefully 
instructed  by  his  priest  that  he  must  worship  God  alone,  and 
rely  upon  him  solely  for  grace,  for  mercy,  for  pardon.  But 
he  is  also  instructed  that  he  may  ask  the  prayers  of  the  faith- 
ful on  earth,  and  of  the  angels  and  saints  in  heaven,  in  his 

*  Gen.  xix.  18-22.  f  Gca.  xlviii.  15,  16.  %  ^^-  '^^-  l^-^^. 

§  Matt,  xviii.  10.  \  Ps.  xxxiii.  8.  ^  Judith  xiii.  20. 

**  Exod.  xxiii.  20,  21. 
8* 


178  CHEISTIANITT   AKD   ITS   CONTLICTS. 

behalf.  How  reasonable,  how  probable,  how  beautiful  the 
idea  that  the  blessed  sj^irits  who  continually  glorify  God  in 
heaven,  and  are  filled  with  love  and  joy  unspeakable,  should 
often  revert  to  those  dear  ones  whom  they  have  left  behind 
on  earth,  and  by  their  prayers  to  the  Being  of  infinite  love 
and  mercy  endeavor  to  secure  for  them  the  Divine  aid  and 
blessing !  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  these  blessed  spirits,  so 
replete  with  love  and  bliss,  can  forget  their  earthly  brethren, 
and  no  longer  feel  an  interest  in  them  ?  Does  not  the  sainted 
mother  in  heaven  still  reg-ard  her  darlino;  babes  on  earth 
with  tender  aifection,  and  pray  for  them  to  Him  who  said, 
"  Sufl:er  little  children  to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not, 
for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  "  ? 

Catholics  do  not  worship  the  Virgin,  or  angels,  or  saints ; 
but  they  do  ask  them  to  pray  for  them,  and  to  use  their 
kindly  influences  in  bringing  them  nearer  and  nearer  to  God. 
They  do  not  worship  these  blessed  spirits  who  are  so  near 
to  God ;  but  they  do  love  them,  reverence  them,  and  rely 
upon  their  friendship,  and  their  prayers,  and  their  kindly 
ofiices  in  their  behalf. 

While  confined  in  the  mortal  body,  the  faculties  of  the 
soul  and  all  the  operations  of  the  intellect  are  limited.  The 
powers  of  the  special  senses — sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste,  and 
touch — are  confined  to  very  narrow  bounds ;  and  the  results 
of  human  thought  and  reason  are  exceedingly  meagre  and 
unsatisfactory;  and  yet  no  thought,  no  word,  no  act  emana- 
ting from  these  finite  beings  of  earth  escapes  the  All-seeing 
eye  of  our  Father  in  heaven.  When  these  same  souls  escape 
from  their  mortal  habitation — from  the  trammels  of  the  body 
— all  the  faculties  are  vastly  enhanced,  and  vision,  hearing, 
thought,  reason,  and  understanding  are  almost  unlimited. 
They  can  see  and  appreciate  our  desires  and  our  wants, 
although  we  grope  through  life  chained  within  the  limited 
confines  of  our  mortal  prison-house. 

It  is  a  universal  and  beautiful  custom  of  the  heads  of  Chris- 
tian families  to  pray  for  themselves,  their  wivxs,  their  chil- 
dren, their  kindred,  and  their  friends.     No  one  doubts  the 


ON   THE   INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  170 

efficacy  of  these  family  intercessions  to  tlie  omnipotent  Father 
of  mankind ;  nor  docs  any  one  suppose  that  they  detract 
from  the  mediatorship  of  our  Saviour.  Pastoi*s  of  all  sects 
habitually  implore  the  divine  interposition  and  blessing  upon 
their  congregations,  their  rulers,  and  their  fellow-men.  No 
one  questions  the  utility  or  the  propriety  of  these  prayers  of 
third  parties,  nor  does  any  one  believe  that  they  trench  upon 
the  peculiar  mediatorship  of  the  Redeemer.  Those  who  are 
sick  or  in  imminent  danger  call  upon  their  spiritual  advisers 
and  their  religious  friends  to  appeal  to  Jesus  for  the  pardon 
of  their  sins,  and  for  His  all-powerful  aid  in  rescuing  them 
from  their  perils.  No  one  accuses  these  earthly  intcrceders 
of  usurping  the  mediatorial  office  of  the  Most  High. 

And  when  the  prayers  of  holy  men  on  earth  ascend  to 
the  throne  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of  the  world  hears  them, 
answers  them,  and  brings  repentant  sinners  to  His  heavenly 
fold,  the  Scriptures  teach  us  that  there  is  rejoicing  among 
the  saints  and  ano-els  in  heaven.  If  these  saints  and  anirels 
are  cognizant  of  these  prayers,  and  "  rejoice  over  one  sinner 
that  rej^enteth,"  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
who  surround  the  throne  of  grace  also  join  their  prayers 
witli  those  ascending  from  earth.  Nor  will  the  sainted 
mother,  who  has  left  her  helpless  babes  behind  her  to  the 
chances  and  charities  of  a  cold  and  selfish  world,  refrain  from 
imploring  a  blessing  on  them  from  the  ever-living  fountain  of 
Love !  Nor  will  the  Author  of  their  being,  who  said,  "  Let 
little  children  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of 
such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven,"  refuse  to  listen  lovingly  and 
fovorably  to  the  prayers  of  this  mother!  And  the  glorious 
company  of  angels  and  saints,  who  continually  imbibe  love 
and  light  from  the  Deity,  will  regard  with  tender  interest 
tlje  dear  ones  of  earth,  and  ask  their  heavenly  Father  to 
bless  them!  It  would  be  heartless  to  suppose  that  the 
saints  in  heaven  forget  that  they  have  husbands,  wives, 
parents,  children,  brothers,  and  sisters  on  earth,  and  that 
they  have  extinguished  the  affections  which  God  imjilanted 
witliin  them  while  here  below  ! 


180  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

Some  writer  has  aptly  designated  death  as  a  new  hirth. 
The  body  dies,  and  its  material  parts  decay  and  resolve 
themselves  into  their  original  elements,  to  be  again  recom- 
bined  under  new  forms.  A  few  scores  of  years  hence,  and 
the  proud  mortal,  whose  body  is  now  radiant  with  beauty 
and  grace,  may  become  a  component  part  of  some  animal, 
some  monster,  a  tree,  a  plant,  or  perchance  a  flower.  As 
the  atoms  of  the  decomposing  body  fly  away,  and  become 
diffused,  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  ]N"ature,  new  affinities 
obtain,  new  combinations  result,  and  that  which  was  once  a 
human  form,  may  constitute  in  part  hundreds  of  new,  and 
dissimilar  animals  and  plants. 

But  the  real  body — the  spiritual  body — is  born  again.  It 
has  been  delivered  from  the  narrow  trammels  of  the  physical 
organization,  the  capacities  of  all  its  faculties  are  vastly  en- 
Imnced,  and  it  enters  the  spirit-world,  leaving  its  earthy 
clogs  and  fetters  behind.  With  these  enlarged  capacities 
the  immortal  saint  can  regard  the  thoughts  and  the  actions 
of  men,  can  exercise  a  certain  spiritual  influence  over  us,  and 
can  ask  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  to  aid  us  and  bless  us. 

How  cold  and  heartless  the  philosophy  which  would 
teach  us  that  our  departed  relatives  and  friends  have  for- 
gotten us,  have  lost  all  earthly  ties  and  affections,  and  cojv 
ccrn  themselves  no  more  respecting  the  affairs  of  this  world  ! 
IIovv^  unnatural  to  suppose  that  those  whom  God  has  united 
on  earth,  by  the  tcnderest  sentiments  of  love  and  affection, 
are  to  become  to  one  another  strangers  after  death ! 

The  following  instructions,  from  the  canons  and  decrees 
of  the  Council  of  Trent,  are  given  to  all  bishops  and  teachers 
of  the  Church.  They  are  commanded  to  teach  "  that  the 
saints,  v/ho  reign  together  with  Christ,  offer  up  their  own 
prayers  to  God  for  men;  that  it  is  good  and  useful  sup- 
pliantly  to  invoke  them,  and  to  liave  recourse  to  their 
prayers,  aid,  and  help  for  obtaining  benefits  from  God, 
through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who  is  alone  our 
Redeemer  and  Saviour."  * 

*  "  Canons  and  Decree?  of  the  Council  of  Trent,"  p.  2M. 


ON   THE   INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  181 

As  religion  consists  in  a  correct  knowledge  of  all  the 
Divine  precepts,  and  in  the  habitual  observance  of  tliem, 
the  Church  maintains  that  any  object  or  any  act  capable 
of  inducing  m  the  human  mind  a  devout  thought,  may  be 
productive  of  good  results.  When  such  objects  or  acts  recall 
the  agony  and  suiferings  of  our  Saviour  upon  the  crosff,  they 
are  especially  likely  to  produce  impressions  which  tend  to 
elevate  the  heart  toward  God.  When  a  Catholic  beholds 
a  picture  of  the  crucifixion,  or  a  statue  of  our  Saviour  upon 
the  cross,  his  mind  instantly  reverts  to  our  blessed  Saviour  in 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  crowned  with  thorns,  and  led  by 
the  minions  of  Pontius  Pilate  to  the  scaffold,  amid  the  jeers, 
the  insults,  and  the  mockery  of  the  multitude,  and  to  His 
agonies  and  death  upon  the  cross.  The  devout  Christian 
boAvs  himself  Avith  reverence,  and  Aveeps  before  this  symbol, 
and  his  heart-  is  filled  with  gratitude  and  love  toward  the 
Saviour  of  mankind.  Is  it  the  inanimate  canvas  or  the 
colors  which  adorn  it  that  call  forth  these  emotions  of 
gratitude,  love,  and  adoration  ?  In  prostrating  himself  be- 
fore it,  with  tears  and  humble  devotion,  does  lie  worship  and 
adore  the  picture,  or  the  heavenly  personage  it  represents  ? 

Tlie  sight  of  a  picture  or  a  statue  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
naturally  calls  up,  before  the  meanest  as  well  as  the  best  in- 
tellect, the  miraculous  conception  and  birth  of  Jesus,  His 
humble  abode  in  the  manger  after  birth,  the  respect  and 
adoration  of  the  shepherds  and  of  the  wise  men,  the  attempt 
of  Herod  to  destroy  Him  by  the  massacre  of  the  innocents.  His 
infantile  persecutions  by  the  Jews,  His  tarrying  in  the  syna- 
gogue of  His  enemies,  and  the  tender  care  and  holy  affection 
of  the  mother  for  her  Divifie  Child.  Are  such  representations 
and  such  thoughts  idolatrous  ?  Is  it  not  useful  to  recall,  as 
often  as  possible,  the  history,  the  life,  the  instructions,  and 
sufferings  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  events  connected  there- 
with ?  And  is  it  material  Avhether  we  appeal  to  the  mind, 
by  oral  or  written  words,  or  by  representations  in  marble  or 
on  canvas  ?  It  is  not  the  eloquent  language,  or  the  classical 
diction,  or  the  artistic  groupings  in  marble  or  on  the  canvas 


182  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

which  imi^rcss  our  minds  and  develop  within  us  sentiments 
of  love,  gratitude,  and  adoration,  but  the  ideas,  the  scenes, 
the  facts  represented. 

It  is  immaterial  what  particular  angel,  saint,  or  scene  is 
depicted,  provided  it  calls  to  mind  any  interesting  event  in 
the  life  and  career  of  Christ,  or  tends  to  draw  the  heart  of 
man  nearer  to  God. 

Objections  are  often  urged  against  the  Church  by  Prot- 
estants for  what  they  term  its  ceremonies,  forms,  displays, 
and  "mummeries."  They  especially  denounce  any  token 
of  respect  to  the  symbol  of  our  Saviour's  crucifixion.  Pros- 
tration and  prayer  before  the  cross,  and  personal  signing  of 
the  cross,  are  regarded  as  particularly  odious,  undignified, 
and  idolatrous.  These  self-reliant  and  self-satisfied  Chris- 
tians prefer  to  show  their  manhood,  their  independence,  and 
their  fearlessness,  by  always  passing  by  these  holy  symbols 
with  heads  and  bodies  erect,  and  with  haughty  and  defiant 
sneers  upon  their  lips.  But  the  Saviour,  who  once  bore  this 
cross,  and  died  uj^on  it  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  men,  beholds 
him  who  sneers  at  and  ridicules  it,  as  well  as  the  humble 
worshipper  who  prostrates  himself  in  gratitude  and  devotion 
before  it. 

In  this  connection  we  present  an  incident.  A  few  years 
since  an  emigrant  vessel  arrived  in  this  port  from  Liverpool, 
after  a  long  and  tem23estuous  voyage.  As  soon  as  the  ship 
touched  the  wharf  her  passengers  hastened  away  to  their  dif- 
ferent destinations.  Among  them  were  some  thirty  or  forty 
Catholic  emigrants,  poor,  ignorant,  ragged,  friendless,  and 
houseless  in  a  strange  land.  On  stepping  on  shore,  they 
glanced  about  for  some  sacred  edifice  where  they  could  ex- 
press their  gratitude  and  tlianks  to  God  for  their  protection 
during  the  voyage,  and  their  safe  arrival.  The  spire  of  old 
Trinity  Church,  bearing  upon  her  front  the  cross,  caught 
their  eyes,  and  with  one  accord  they  rushed  to  the  spot,  pros- 
trated themselves  to  the  earth  before  it,  and  blessed  God  from 
their  hearts  for  bringing  them  thus  far  on  their  pilgrimage. 
Did  these  poor  unfortunates  express  their  gratitude  and  thanks 


ON   THE   INVOCATION   OF   SAINTS,    ETC.  183 

to  old  Trinity  spire  and  its  cross,  or  to  the  merciful  Being 
wlio  rules  the  waves  and  the  tempest,  and  who  had  con- 
ducted them  safely  to  harbor  ?  And  will  this  merciful  Being 
look  down  upon  these  poor  emigrants  with  less  approbation 
than  upon  the  proud  mei-chants  who  departed  from  the  same 
vessel,  and  passed  by  the  same  sacred  edifice  and  the  same 
sacred  emblem  of  the  crucifixion,  unheedingly,  and  per- 
haps mockingly  and  defiantly?  But  these  lowly  strangers 
not  only  prostrated  themselves  before  the  temple  and  the 
cross  of  our  Lord,  but  they  repeatedly  signed  themselves 
with  the  sacred  emblem,  in  the  name  of  the  Fatlier  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  a  token  to  the  whole 
world  of  their  faith  and  <rratitude.  Is  there  not  danorer  that 
those  who  are  ashamed  of  their  faith,  and  hesitate  to  mani- 
fest it  by  devout  acts,  will  also  be  unrecognized  and  denied 
at  the  day  of  judgment  ? 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  customs  of  civilized  societies  is 
that  of  procuring  and  cherishing  pictures,  busts,  and  statues 
of  departed  friends.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  family 
that  has  not  a  portrait  or  a  bust  of  some  dear  relative  who  is 
in  the  land  of  spirits.  And  who,  in  regarding  these  images 
of  the  departed,  does  not  recall  the  virtues,  the  kindnesses, 
the  aflTection,  and  other  excellent  traits  which  pertained  to  them 
during  life,  and  glow  with  renewed  tenderness  toward  them  ? 
Is  it  the  mere  work  of  the  artist  which  calls  up  these  emo- 
tions, or  are  they  due  to  the  individuals  and  the  ideas  rep- 
resented ? 

The  same  sentiment  which  induces  a  parent  to  desire  a 
portrait  or  a  statue  of  a  departed  child,  actuates  the  Catholic 
in  desiring  a  likeness  or  a  statue  of  the  Saviour,  and  of  angels 
and  saints.  It  is  natural  and  commendable  for  mankind  to 
desire  to  possess  likenesses  and  mementoes  of  all  who  are 
dear  to  them,  and  the  stronger  their  affection  for  them,  tlie 
stronger  the  desire  of  possession.  If,  then,  we  love  the 
Saviour  better  than  our  departed  friends,  why  may  we  not 
Avcar  His  image  or  His  portrait  as  well  as  theirs  next  to 
our  hearts?     Among  the  photographs  in  the  album  of  the 


184  CnKISTIANITT    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

heart,  wliy  may  we  not  include  tliose  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  of  the  angels  and  saints,  as  well 
as  of  the  other  sj^irits  in  the  same  heaven  ? 

Can  any  man  be  impressed  by  any  object,  or  perfonn  any 
act  which  tends  to  call  to  mind  the  glory  and  goodness  of 
God,  or  tlie  history  of  the  Redeemer,  without  deriving  bene- 
fit therefrom?  Whether  the  representation  be  Jesus  upon 
the  cross,  or  in  the  act  of  raising  the  dead  to  life,  or  of  healing 
the  siclv,  or  of  walking  on  the  sea  and  stilling  the  tempest, 
or  of  arguing  in  the  synagogues  of  the  Jews,  or  in  the  arras 
of  His  blessed  mother,  a  helpless  infant,  or  of  Mary  herself 
lamenting  over  the  crucifixion  and  the  loss  of  her  beloved 
Son,  good  only  can  result  from  the  sight  and  contemplation 
of  them. 

The  ignorant  and  weak-minded  are  with  difliculty  im- 
pressed by  abstruse  logic  and  subtle  and  refined  ideas ;  but 
present  to  them  even  a  crude  representation  upon  canvas,  or 
in  marble,  and  they  can  understand  and  appreciate  the  senti- 
ments delineated. 

From  a  single  paragraph,  or  a  thought,  an  intellectual 
and  cultivated  man  may  be  able  to  grasp  the  full  significa- 
tion and  scope  of  almost  any  subject  presented  to  him.  His 
acute  perceptive  and  reflective  faculties,  his  vivid  imagina- 
tion, and  his  erudition,  may  enable  him  to  comprehend  and 
a])preciate  the  wonderful  and  beautiful  truths  of  religion,  un- 
aided by  any  simpler,  and  cruder,  or  more  material  means ; 
but  the  masses  of  mankind  are  unlearned,  unaj^preciative,  un- 
imaginative, and  incapable  of  receiving  ardent  and  truthful 
impi-essions,  except  through  the  agency  of  simple  and  almost 
tangible  means. 

The  objects  and  uses  of  language  are  to  express  ideas,  and 
to  preserve  them  by  printed  or  written  characters  for  future 
reference  or  use.  By  looking  at  printed  words  the  mind  can 
gi-asp  the  world's  history,  and  all  the  emotions  and  passions  of 
the  heart  can  be  evoked.  These  results  are  not  produced  by 
the  printed  sheets,  but  by  the  incidents  which  they  call  to 
mind.     In  the  same  manner  pictures  and   statuary  are   in- 


ON   THE   INVOCATION   OF   SAINTS,    ETC.  185 

tended  to  represent  historical  events,  tlie  lives  and  services 
of  eminent  statesmen,  warriors,  etc. ;  and  this  constitutes  an- 
other kind  of  language  and  another  method  of  addressing 
mankind.  Ideas  may  be  conveyed  by  speech^  by  printed  or 
icritten  icords^  \)j  p)hysiccd  signs,  or  hj  pictorkd  or  other  rep- 
resentations. The  preacher  details  m  words  the  passion  and 
death  of  Christ,  and  the  hearts  of  the  faitliful  throb  with 
gratitude  and  emotion;  or  a  writer  7>rmfe  on  paper  ^  descrip- 
tion of  the  same  sufferings  and  crucifixion,  and  presents  it  to 
the  eyes  of  tlie  faithful  with  the  same  result;  or  the  artist 
carves  in  marble  or  paints  on  canvas  a  representation  of  the 
same  subject,  and  places  them  before  the  eyes  of  the  true 
Christian  with  a  similar  effect.  All  these  things  are  simply 
symbols  in  common  use  in  order  to  express  ideas  and  facts  ; 
and  the  assertion  so  often  made  by  Protestants  against 
Catholics,  that  they  do  or  can  worship  or  idolize  any  one  of 
these  symbols  of  expression,  is  in  the  highest  degree  absurd. 

For  the  most  part  ideas  are  absorbed  by  the  mind,  and 
imj^ressions  received  from  spolccn  words,  from  printed  or 
loritten  loords,  from  painted  or  sculptured  characters  and  ob- 
jects, from  physical  signs  and  from  sounds.  A  signal-fire, 
or  the  display  of  a  flag  from  an  elevation,  or  the  sounds  of  a 
cannon,  a  drum,  or  a  trumpet,  may  address  an  entire  army  at 
the  same  instant,  and  order  a  bloody  battle-charge,  or  the 
burning  and  sacking  of  a  city.  Some  of  these  appeal  to  the 
understanding,  some  are  noisy  and  discordant,  some  musical 
and  harmonious,  some  full  of  motion  and  life,  and  some 
mute.  Some  of  them,  like  printed  or  written  words,  address 
tlicmselves  directly  to  the  understanding  and  the  reasoning 
and  reflective  faculties.  Some,  like  paintings  and  statuary, 
appeal  to  the  intelligence,  through  the  beautiful,  the  sublime, 
and  the  emotional.  Some  strike  the  senses  like  an  electrical 
stroke,  and  rouse  into  activity  the  ruder  passions  and  emo- 
tions of  the  heart. 

Of  course,  no  sensible  man  supposes  that  any  of  these  sym- 
bols or  modes  of  expression  can  be  idolized.  No  intelligent 
man  will  accuse  his  fellow-creature  of  superstition,  image  or 


186  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

picture  worship,  and  idolatry,  for  clioosing  to  receive  ideas 
and  facts  from  all  of  these  modes  of  expression,  instead  of 
from  a  part  of  them. 

If  the  Christians  of  the  first  century  did  not  build  costly 
edifices,  and  adorn  them  with  pictures,  statues,  and  other 
representations  of  their  beloved  Master  and  His  blessed 
mother,  in  gold  and  jDrecious  stones,  it  was  because  they 
were  penniless  and  persecuted.  Had  it  been  in  their  power, 
they  w^ould  have  built  temples  reaching  the  very  heavens, 
and  filled  them  with  symbols  of  Christ  and  His  mission. 
And  God  in  heaven  would  have  aj^proved  of  them,  as  He  did 
in  olden  times.  Yea,  God  commanded  these  things  in  the 
days  of  Moses  and  Solomon.  Thus,  God  said  to  Moses : 
"  Thou  shalt  make  tvv  o  cherubim  of  beaten  gold,  on  the  two 
sides  of  the  oracle."  ^^  "  And  the  Lord  said  to  Moses,  Make 
a  brazen  serpent,  and  set  it  tip  for  a  sign."  f  God  also  di- 
rected Solomon  to  ornament  the  temple  with  images  and 

pictures :  thus,  "  He  graved  cherubim  on  the  Avails He 

made  also  in  the  house  of  the  holy  of  holies  tAvo  cherubim 
of  image- Avork ;  and  he  OA'erlaid  them  with  gold."  | 

Ko  less  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God  are  the  beautiful 
temi^les,  and  their  sacred  ornaments,  erected  in  His  honor  by 
the  children  of  the  new  dispensation. 

The  authorized  doctrines  of  the  Church  upon  this  subject 
are  expressed  in  the  canons  and  decrees  of  the  Council  of 
Trent  as  follows :  "Moreover,  that  the  images  of  Christ,  of 
the  virgin  mother  of  God,  and  of  the  other  saints,  are  to  be 
had  and  retained,  particularly  in  temples,  and  that  due  honor 
and  veneration  are  to  be  given  them ;  not  that  any  divinity, 
or  virtue,  is  belicA'ed  to  be  in  them,  on  account  of  which  they 
are  to  be  worshipped  ;  or  that  any  thing  is  to  be  asked  of  them ; 
or  that  trust  is  to  be  reposed  in  images,  as  Avas  of  old  done 
by  the  Gentiles  who  placed  their  hope  in  idols ;  but  because 
the  honor  Avhich  is  shoAA^n  them  is  referred  to  the  prototypes 
Avhich  those  images  represent;  in  such  Avise  that  by  the 
images  which  Ave  kiss,  and  before  Avhich  we  uncover  the  head, 

*  Exodus  XXV.  18.  f  Numbers  xxi.  8.  ;}:  2  Par.  iii.  '7-10. 


ON    THE   INVOCATION    OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  187 

and  prostrate  ourselves,  we  adore  Christ,  and  we  venerate 
the  saints,  whose  similitude  they  bear."  * 

The  bishops  are  also  instructed  to  teach — "  that  by  means 
of  the  histories  of  the  mysteries  of  our  redemption,  portrayed 
by  paintings  or  other  representations,  the  people  are  instructed, 
and  confirmed  in  the  habit  of  remembering,  and  continually 
revolving  in  mind  the  articles  of  faith :  .  .  .  .  that  so  they 
might  give  God  thanks  for  those  things;  may  order  their 
own  lives  and  manners  in  imitation  of  the  saints ;  and  may 
be  excited  to  adore  and  love  God,  and  to  cultivate  piety :  f 
....  and  if  any  abuses  have  crept  in  amongst  these  holy  and 
salutary  observances,  the  holy  synod  heartily  desires  tliat 
they  be  utterly  abolished ;  in  such  wise  that  no  images  sug- 
gestive of  false  doctrine,  and  furnishing  occasion  of  danger- 
ous error  to  the  uneducated,  be  set  up."  J 

The  fathers  of  Trent  also  taught  that  "  the  holy  bodies  of 
holy  martyrs,  and  of  others  now  living  with  Christ — which 
bodies  were  the  living  members  of  Christ,  cmd  the  tonple  of 
the  Holy  Ghost^  §  and  which  are  by  Him  to  be  raised  unto 
eternal  life,  and  to  be  glorified — are  to  be  venerated  by  the 
faithful."  II 

From  the  earliest  period  Catholics  have  honored  and 
venerated  the  holy  places  which  Christ  blessed  and  sancti- 
fied with  His  divine  presence  when  on  earth,  as  well  as  the 
relics  of  His  passion  and  crucifixion.  They  have  also  hon- 
ored and  venerated  the  sepulchres  and  the  relics  of  the 
saints  and  martyrs  who  have  laid  down  their  lives  in  the 
service  of  their  divine  Master.  When  Helena,  the  mother 
of  Constantine,  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem,  to  witness 
the  places  where  our  Redeemer  had  preached,  suffered,  and 
died,  and  succeeded  in  finding  and  in  bringing  away  a  por- 
tion of  the  holy  cross  to  which  Pie  had  been  nailed,  she  did 
a  noble  and  pious  act,  and  the  smiles  and  blessings  of  Heaven 
rested  uj)on  her.    When  the  sepulchre  of  Jesus  and  the  other 

*  "  Canons  and  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,"  page  234. 
f  Ibid.,  p.  235.  X  I^^i^M  P-  235.  §  1  Cor.  iii.  6. 

ll  "  Canons  and  Decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent,"  page  235. 


188  CIIPJSTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

holy  places  of  Jerusalem  were  held  and  desecrated  by  the 
followers  of  Mohammed,  all  Europe  rushed  to  arms,  and  in 
several  bloody  crusades  attempted  to  wrest  them  from  the 
hands  of  the  infidel,  with  a  view  of  honoring  and  glorifying 
their  Saviour.  The  Lord's  tomb,  the  garden  of  Gethsemane, 
and  the  mount  of  Olives,  were  all  material  and  inanimate 
objects,  some  of  them  formed  by  the  hands  of  men ;  but 
they  were  honored  and  venerated  for  the  associations  con- 
nected w^ith  them,  and  the  reminiscences  they  excited,  and 
not  for  any  inherent  divinity  or  virtue  which  they  possessed 
per  se. 

When  holy  men  have  devoted  themselves  exclusively  to 
God,  forsaken  all  worldly  desires,  taken  their  lives  in  their 
hands,  suffered  every  conceivable  privation  and  danger,  and 
then  been  cruelly  martyred,  their  memories,  their  sepulchres, 
and  their  relics  have  been  honored  and  venerated.  Are  such 
tokens  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  the  holy  dead  to  be  depre- 
cated ?  Is  it  wrong  to  possess,  or  to  look  with  veneration 
upon  objects  which  recall  the  acts  of  these  devoted  servants 
and  martyrs  of  Christ  ? 

Nations  retain  and  honor  the  relics  of  their  great  W' arriors 
and  statesmen,  and  their  armor,  weapons,  and  other  person :il 
articles  are  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation 
among  the  honored  archives  of  the  nation.  Families  pre- 
serve and  respect,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  mementoes  and  relics 
of  departed  relatives  and  friends,  and  the  ideas  which  the 
sight  of  til  em  calls  up  are  in  the  highest  degree  precious  and 
instructive.  A  lock  of  hair,  a  letter,  a  photograph,  a  marble 
image,  or  other  memento  of  a  deceased  friend,  brings  up  be- 
fore the  mind's  eye  his  face,  his  good  qualities,  his  acts  when 
living,  and  rekindles  the  dormant  emotions  of  love  and  affec- 
tion. Is  there  idolatry/  in  all  this  ?  Do  we  render  divine 
loorsliip  to  these  inanimate  objects  which  we  press  to  our  lips 
and  bathe  with  tears  ?  Does  not  every  good  instinct  of  our 
nature  approve  of  the  preservation  of  these  mute  relics, 
similitudes,  and  mementoes  of  the  departed,  and  of  these 
silent  tokens  of  affection  and  respect  ?    If  these  pictures, 


ON   THE   INVOCATION   OF   SAINTS,    ETC.  180 

images,  and  relics,  may  with  propriety  occupy  positions  of 
honor  in  the  domestic  household,  why,  then,  surely  the  pic- 
tures, images,  and  relics  of  Christ  and  His  saints  may  occupy 
similar  positions  in  the  houses  of  God.  If  the  contempla- 
tion of  these  objects  of  the  domestic  circle  excite  Avithin  us 
the  most  tender  and  refined  emotions  of  the  heart,  surely  a 
contemplation  of  similar  objects  within  the  walls  of  the 
Church  should  induce  kindred  emotions  of  love  and  rever- 
ence. If  Protestants  are  sincere  in  their  opposition  to  the 
exhibition  of  sacred  pictures  and  statues  in  the  churches,  and 
if  they  actually  believe  that  such  exhibitions  tend  to  idolatry, 
.  let  them  first  turn  to  their  own  homes  and  commence  the 
work  of  reformation  there.  If  they  would  be  consistent  in 
their  professions,  let  them  turn  domestic  iconoclasts ;  pull 
down  and  break  in  pieces  the  images  and  busts  of  dead 
parents  and  relatives ;  tear  from  their  walls  and  trample 
under  foot  the  portraits  of  the  dear  departed ;  drag  from  their 
bosoms  the  photographs  and  the  lockets  of  hair  of  deceased 
wives,  children,  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  and  consign 
them  to  the  flames.  God  help  the  cold-blooded  heartlessness 
of  those  cavilling:  innovators  who  beorrudoje  these  tokens  of 
love  and  honor  to  departed  friends,  or  to  God's  elect  in 
heaven  ! 

Modern  sectaries  are  zealous  advocates  of  simplicity  in 
worship,  for  independence  of  all  ecclesiastical  authority,  for 
freedom  of  conscience,  and  for  an  avoidance  of  all  manifesta- 
tions of  deference,  submission,  and  humility  toward  the  Su- 
preme Being.  They  scorn  to  kneel,  and  turn  their  backs  to 
the  altar  when  their  pastors  address  the  Infinite  God ;  they 
toss  their  heads  and  erect  their  bodies  defiantly  at  the  name 
of  Jesus ;  and  were  they  to  presume  to  invoke  the  prayers  of 
His  blessed  mother,  they  would  forsake  the  house  of  worship 
with  unconcealed  rage  and  hatred.  Their  innovating  in- 
structors have  taught  them  to  reject  every  thing  which  had 
been  held  sacred  by  Catholics ;  and  as  the  latter  have  alwaj^s 
been  in  the  habit  of  bending  the  knee  and  bowing  the  head 
and  body  in  adoration  at  llie  name  of  the  Father,  or  ilie  Son, 


190  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ov  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  followers  of  the  former  were  taught 
to  scorn  and  to  avoid  such  tokens  of  adoration  in  their  wor- 
ship. These  advocates  oi  simplicity  have  ever  scoffed  at  the 
idea  of  stooping  before  the  name  and  the  majesty  of  God,  or 
Christ,  or  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  of  compromising  their  dignity 
or  their  independence  by  humbling  themselves  before  God  or 
man.  Although  the  Scriptures  teach  us  that  the  archangels 
hide  their  faces  in  the  presence  of  God,  that  Daniel  fainted 
away  and  retained  no  strength,  even  in  the  presence  of  an 
angel,  and  that  every  knee  should  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus, 
modern  sectaries  are  guilty  of  no  such  weaknesses.  Why 
should  they  bow  the  knee  to  the  living  God  ?  Why  should 
they  bend  their  proud  necks  Avhen  asking  a  favor  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  the  carpenter's  son  ?  Why  should  they  lower 
their  dignity,  or  disarrange  their  equanimity  and  simplicity, 
by  humbling  themselves  before  the  altar  of  the  Triune  God  ? 
According  to  these  men,  those  poor,  deluded  people  of  old, 
who  followed  Christ  about,  touching  the  hem  of  His  garments, 
washing  His  feet  with  their  hair,  and  prostrating  themselves 
before  Him,  were  bigoted  papists — given  over  to  idolatry, 
ceremonies,  and  vain  superstitions.  But  Luther  and  Calvin 
did  not  live  then,  or  these  idolatrous  practices  would  have 
been  rebuked  and  reformed,  and  these  relic-worshippers,  feet- 
washers,  kneelers,  and  bowers,  would  have  been  kept  at  a 
proper  distance !  The  following  incident  related  by  an  An- 
glican clergyman  who  visited  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jeru- 
salem, illustrates  the  spirit  of  these  reformed  Christians. 
Within  the  precincts  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  in  that  spot 
where  angels  tread  with  fear  and  awe,  the  English  writer 
observes,  that  "  the  only  visitors  who  were  not  prostrate  on 
their  faces  were  Turks  and  English  Protestants,  but  that  the 
former  were  much  the  more  reverent  of  the  two.  And  this 
very  reverence  at  the  tomb  of  Christ,  before  which  the  holy 
women  watched  with  heavy  hearts,  only  moves  with  disdain 
the  disciples  of  Luther,  and  Calvin,  and  Cranmer."  "I  have 
never  seen  any  thing  so  abject,"  says  one  of  them,  "  as  the 
conduct  of  the  pilgrims  before  the  altar  in  the  Calvary  chaiiel. 


ON   THE    INVOCATION   OF    SAINTS,    ETC.  191 

You  can  scarcely  recognize  them  as  men."  *  To  lie  prostrate, 
and  to  weep  at  the  tomb  of  the  Saviour,  this  gentleman  deems 
abject  degradation. 

St.  Jerome  comprises  in  a  single  paragraph  the  sentiment 
Avhich  animates  the  Catholic  respecting  this  subject :  "  I3ut 
we  worship  not,  we  adore  not,  I  do  not  say  relics  only,  but 
not  even  the  sun  and  moon,  not  angels,  not  archangels,  not 
tlie  cherubim,  not  the  seraphim  .  .  .  lest  we  serve  the  creature 
rather  than  the  Creator,  who  is  blessed  forevermore.  But 
we  honor  the  relics  of  martyrs,  that  we  may  adore  Him 
whose  martyrs  they  are.  We  honor  the  servants,  that  the 
lionor  given  to  the  servants  may  redound  to  the  Lord,  who 
says,  He  that  receivetJi  you  receiveth  J/e." 

*  "The  Wanderers  of  Syria,"  p.  211. 


CHAPTEE  XYI. 

THE  CATHEDKALS,  AND  THE  FORMS  AND  CEREMONIES  OF  THE 

CHURCH. 

The  gorgeous  cathedrals  and  the  imjDOsing  forms  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  objected  to  by  Prot- 
estants. They  assert  that  Christ  and  His  disciples  wqvq  in 
the  habit  of  preaching  and  teaching  in  the  open  air,  in  the 
mountains,  by  the  v/ay-side,  in  the  fields,  in  the  streets  of 
towns  and  cities,  and  on  ships,  and  that  they  were  clad  in 
the  siraj)le  garb  of  shepherds,  fishermen,  and  publicans. 

.  At  the  period  of  Christ's  mission  upon  earth  men  were 
enshrouded  in  sin  and  false  doctrines  of  all  kinds.  The 
Jewish  priesthood  and  potentates  were  powerful,  intolerant, 
cruel,  and  jealous  of  all  innovations  upon  their  religious 
rights,  customs,  and  privileges ;  and  when  the  coming  of  the 
Son  of  man  was  announced,  their  ingenuity  and  cunning 
Avere  taxed  to  thwart  His  holy  mission,  and  if  possible  to 
destroy  Him.  As  a  matter  of  necessity,  therefore,  Jesus 
and  His  followers  were  obliged  to  address  the  people  when- 
ever and  wherever  they  could  find  an  opportunity.  Driven 
from  place  to  place,  persecuted  at  every  step,  their  liberty 
and  their  lives  in  continual  j^eril,  they  had  neither  the  time 
nor  the  means  to  erect  temples  of  worship,  or  to  establish 
forms  and  ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  living  God.  ]^7ecessity 
alone  compelled  our  divine  Master  and  His  apostles  to  forego 
the  employment  of  grand  edifices,  imposing  forms  and  cere- 
monies, and  many  outward  tokens  of  respect  which  are  so 


THE   CATHEDKALS,    ETC.  193 

einiuently  due  to  the  majesty  of  tlie  Supreme  Ruler  of  heaven 
and  earth.  Could  Christ  and  His  disciples  have  erected  a 
temple  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  whose  glittering  towers 
should  penetrate  the  very  skies  and  dazzle  the  nations  by 
their  brilliancy,  they  would  have  delighted  in  the  act  for  the 
glory  of  God.  Or  could  they  have  arrayed  themselves  in 
purple  and  brilliants,  and  marched  through  the  world  with 
the  word  of  God  emblazoned  all  over  them  in  letters  of  purest 
gold  and  precious  stones,  as  the  ministers  of  the  King  of 
kings,  they  would  cheerfully  have  done  so  for  the  honor  of 
Him  who  sent  them. 

Ordinary  propriety  and  decorum  require  an  earthly 
monarch  to  maintain  his  honor,  dignity,  and  influence  by 
means  of  his  palaces,  his  throne,  his  court,  his  halls  of  au- 
dience, and  the  decorations  which  pertain  to  royalty.  To 
all  this  no  reasonable  subject  takes  exception. 

Shall  less  honor  and  less  respect  be  given  to  the  Most 
High  ?  Shall  we  refuse  to  contribute  of  our  substance  for 
the  erection  of  temples,  and  the  establishment  of  holy  cere- 
monies which  tend  to  honor  and  glorify  our  Creator  ? 

Men  build  costly  houses,  and  embellish  them  with  splen- 
did furniture,  pictures,  statuary,  and  portraits  of  friends 
now  in  the  spirit-world,  and  surround  themselves  with  ele- 
gant equipages,  liveried  servants,  rare  libraries,  and  works  of 
art,  for  their  own  honor  and  pleasure.  No  one  objects  to 
these  domestic  temples,  or  to  these  domestic  forms,  ceremo- 
nies, and  displays,  but  all  regard  with  favor  the  man  whose 
enterprise  and  industry  have  enabled  him  thus  to  honor  him- 
self and  his  family. 

Let  not  man,  then,  refuse  to  honor  and  glorify  the  living- 
God  by  establishing  costly  temples  dedicated  to  His  worship, 
embellished  with  works  of  art  inspired  by  heaven-born 
genius,  and  by  such  poor  forms,  ceremonies,  and  other  tokens 
of  adoration  and  devotion  as  humble  mortals  may  be  able  to 
oficr  to  the  infinite  majesty  of  the  Almighty. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  our  heavenly  Father  will  re- 
gard Avith  divine  favor,  and  answer  the  prayers  of  the  de- 
9 


194  CnEISTTANITY  AND  TIB   CONFLICTS. 

voted  missionary  in  the  remote  wilds  of  the  savage,  of  the 
peasant  in  liis  hovel  or  in  his  field,  or  of  the  mariner  on  the 
tempestuous  ocean,  or  of  the  soldier  in  the  midst  of  his  cam- 
paign ;  but  He  will  not  regard  with  any  less  favor  those  who 
strive  to  honor  and  glorify  Him  by  outward  tokens  of  re- 
spect, love,  and  veneration,  as  well  as  by  inward  sentiments 
of  adoration  and  worship. 

It  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  love,  adore,  and  worship 
God.  It  is  also  their  duty  to  honor  and  glorify  His  name, 
and  to  disseminate  throughout  the  world  the  immutable  and 
everlasting  truths  of  His  holy  Word.  It  is  likewise  their 
duty  to  love  their  neighbors  as  themselves,  and  to  direct 
them  toward  truth,  righteousness,  and  true  religion. 

The  minds  of  men  are  influenced  in  various  ways.  Intel- 
lects of  a  high  order,  and  of  high  culture,  are  impressed  by 
classical  discourses,  by  the  subtilties  and  refinements  of  logic, 
by  philosophical  analyses,  comparisons,  and  deductions. 
Others  can  be  better  impressed  by  an  appeal  to  their  imagi- 
nations, their  sentiments,  and  their  emotional  faculties.  But 
by  far  the  greater  number  are  more  forcibly  influenced  by 
more  material,  tangible,  direct,  and  unintellectual  external 
manifestations. 

Present  to  this  last  class  a  pathetic  poem,  representing  an 
orphan  child  alone  in  the  world,  friendless,  penniless,  and 
sufiering  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  it  will  be  almost  un- 
heeded and  unappreciated;  but  let  them  meet  a  similar 
orphan  in  the  street,  and  their  hearts  are  at  once  touched, 
and  they  render  instant  and  substantial  aid. 

In  order,  then,  to  reach  all  orders  of  intellect,  and  to 
teach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  it  is  necessary  to  bring 
into  operation  all  of  the  means  and  appliances  of  the  Church. 
By  so  doing  we  honor  and  glorify  God,  and  subserve  His 
cause  on  earth. 

Reasoning  from  a  worldly  point  of  view,  it  is  evident 
that  the  tenets  of  Protestantism,  and  its  mode  of  worship, 
tend  to  harden  the  heart,  to  repress  the  more  refined  and 
generous  emotions,  and  to  make  men  cold,  selfish,  and  non- 


THE   CATHEDRALS,    ETC.  195 

demonstrative.  The  natural  tendency  of  such  a  religion  is 
toward  skepticism  and  indifference.  Ap23lied  to  society  and 
to  individuals,  its  influences  are  detrimental  to  human  hap- 
piness and  prosperity. 

The  non-demonstrative  family  man  is  a  cold  and  uninter- 
esting specimen  of  humanity,  who  suj^plies  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren with  shelter,  raiment,  and  food,  hut  denies  to  them  tlie 
cultivation  of  those  intellectual  and  emotional  faculties  whicli 
a  beneficent  Creator  has  planted  within  them.  He  consti- 
tutes himself  an  ideal  of  y/hat  a  man  should  be,  and  re- 
pudiates and  repulses  all  of  those  sentiments  and  emotions 
which  proceed  from  the  infinite  Fountain  of  Love.  Thus 
arise  indifference,  emiui,  and  not  unfrequently  actual  dislike 
and  unhappiness  among  members  of  the  same  family.  In- 
stead, of  the  ringing,  merry  laugh,  the  close  embrace,  and 
the  thousand  offices  of  love  and  aflection,  we  find  grudging 
civilities,  chilling  words,  cold  looks,  and  repelling  actions, 
with  their  train  of  regrets,  recriminations,  and  general  mis- 
eries. Thus  much  for  non-demonstrativeness  in  the  family 
circle. 

The  influence  of  this  class  of  men  in  ordinary  social  life  is 
less  pernicious  than  in  the  domestic  circle,  because  they  are 
for  the  most  part  unpopular  and  subordinate.  So  fiir  as  their 
influence  extends,  however,  selfishness,  hypocrisy,  and  heart- 
lessness  mark  their  course.  Ko  benevolent  enterprise,  no 
charity,  no  plans  for  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  poor, 
the  ignorant,  and  the  distressed,  ever  meet  with  their  ap- 
proval. They  regard  poverty,  ignorance,  and  suffering  as 
crimes  worthy  of  punishment,  and  would  be  shocked  to  rec- 
ognize such  beings  as  their  equals,  or  at  the  idea  of  becom- 
ing ruflied  at  the  contemplation  of  their  miseries  and  suf- 
erings.  They  appear  to  entertain  a  vague  idea  that  the 
good  God  created  themselves,  but  that  the  evil  one  created 
the  others. 

Politically,  Machiavelli  is  a  type  of  this  class.  From  this 
stand-point  their  characteristics  may  be  summed  up  under 
the  general  heads  of  expediency,  cunning,  duplicity,  treach- 


196  CIIKISTIANITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

eiy,  hypocrisy,  and  that  the  end  always  justifies  the  means. 
Such  are  the  statesmen,  who  serve  their  rulers  and  their 
countries  so  long  as  such  service  accords  with  their  own  per- 
sonal interests.  But  when  their  ambition  or  their  interests 
coincide  with  the  views  and  projects  of  some  other  ruler, 
then  are  they,  together  with  their  kings  and  countries,  in 
market,  open  to  the  highest  bidder.  These  are  the  dema- 
gogues who  sow  dissensions  among  nations,  citizens,  breth- 
ren, and  gloat  over  strife,  bloodshed,  and  devastation.  These 
are  the  men  who  smile  Avith  grim  delight  when  widows  and 
orphans  wail  with  anguish  for  the  dead.  These  are  the  men 
who  peril  neither  person  nor  property  w^hen  war,  famine,  or 
pestilence  assails  their  country,  but  from  their  secure  and  snug 
retreats  look  out  upon  the  general  wretchedness  with  calm 
indifference. 

We  now  glance  at  this  class  from  a  religious  point  of 
view. 

The  non-demonstrative  man,  when  he  manifests  his  char- 
acteristics against  his  family,  his  friends,  or  his  country,  only 
offends  and  insults  his  fellow-men ;  but  when  these  character- 
istics are  displayed  in  religion,  he  sins  against  and  insults  his 
Maker.  These  men  deem  it  derogatory  to  their  dignity  and 
their  self-respect  to  humble  themselves  before  the  living 
God,  or  to  kneel  before  the  emblems  of  the  crucifixion. 
When  they  pass  by  a  symbol  of  the  cross,  or  a  representation 
of  the  cruel  death  of  Him  who  gave  His  life  for  our  redemp- 
tion, they  walk  with  heads  erect  and  defiantly,  after  the 
manner  of  the  subjects  of  Pontius  Pilate  when  conducting 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  to  execution. 

In  order  to  play  his  part  successfully,  the  non-demon- 
strative man  is  obliged  to  smother  all  the  better  feelings 
and  instincts  of  his  nature.  He  repudiates  religious  senti- 
ment, religious  devotion,  and  emotions  of  all  descriptions,  and 
resiards  with  studied  coldness  those  who  render  homasje  and 
adoration  to  God  and  His  sacred  thin<xs.  A  commemoration 
of  the  passion  and  death  of  our  Saviour  is  to  him  a  mummery 
Avitliout  sio'nification.     While  the  true  Christian  views  these 


THE   CATIIEDEALS,    ETC.  197 


solemn  ceremonies,  and  calls  to  mind  at  every  instant  the 
sufferings  and  sacrifices  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  his  heart  melts 
^vith  emotions  of  love  and  gratitude  to  his  Maker,  and  he 
pledges  himself  anew  to  the  holy  cause.  Not  so  with  the 
non-demonstrative  man.  No  member  of  his  body  bends  be- 
fore the  altar  or  the  emblems  of  God ;  no  emotions  swell  his 
soul  at  the  contemplation  of  objects  and  ceremonies  which 
place  vividly  before  him  the  teachings,  the  life,  and  the  death 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  sneers  at  the  emblems  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, whether  fixed  on  the  temj^lcs  of  God,  or  imj)resscd 
daily  and  hourly  by  devout  hands  on  the  temples  of  the  hu- 
man heart.  The  wretched  human  worm  begrudges  the  j^oor 
tokens  and  symbols  of  respect  and  adoration  which  the  pious 
humbly  pay  to  the  majesty  of  the  Infinite.  His  self-reliant 
and  defiant  heart  dares  question  the  written  decrees  of  the 
Almighty,  and  to  subject  the  holy  mysteries  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  to  the  test  of  his  own  reason. 

The  non-demonstrative  Christian  affects  simplicity  in  every 
thing  touching  his  religion.  Forms  and  ceremonies,  changes 
of  posture,  and  all  mental  efforts  in  the  practice  of  his  religion, 
oppress  him.  He  pays  his  minister  for  preaching  classical 
discourses  replete  with  glittering  generalities,  but  quiet,  gen- 
teel, and  sedative.  Practical  allusions  resj^ecting  the  past, 
the  present,  and  the  fature,  are  his  mortal  aversion. 

Such  are  the  men  who,  for  the  most  part,  have  embraced 
Protestantism.  Should  still  anotlier  set  of  reformers  arise 
and  denounce  what  little  remains  among  Protestant  sects  of 
the  original  worship  and  rites  of  the  Church,  and  leave  the 
v/hole  subject  to  simple  private  judgment  and  self-ministra- 
tion, unincumbered  by  priestcraft,  places  of  worship,  or  other 
public  manifestations,  there  would  be  a  general  abandonment 
of  the  present  system  for  the  still  more  simple  and  less 
troublesome  one.  Such  reforms  have  already  been  initiated 
by  a  modern  sect  of  transcendentalists,  under  the  inspira- 
tion and  leadership  of  talented  and  eloquent  men  in  the  New 
England  States. 

Unfortunately  for  mankind,  those  doctrines  vrhich  appeal 


198  CnKISTlANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

to  personal  convenience,  self-complacency,  and  private  judg- 
ment in  matters  of  religious  dut}^,  are  apt  to  meet  with  prompt 
approbation  from  the  multitude.  As  the  chief  pursuits  in  life 
are  for  worldly  pleasures  and  enjoyments,  it  is  not  strange 
that  the  work  of  salvation  should  be  restricted  to  the  finest 
point  of  simplicity  and  religious  sinecurism. 

The  Catholic  is,  joar  excellence^  a  demonstrative  Christian. 
He  prays  always — in  his  church,  in  his  chamber,  in  his  office, 
in  his  shop,  at  his  labor — and  glories  in  manifesting  his  devo- 
tion to  sacred  things  at  all  times  and  in  all  places.  He  is 
never  ashamed  to  acknowledge  his  faith,  or  his  dependence 
upon  the  Supreme  Being.  He  does  not  disdain  to  call  upon 
his  priest,  his  friends,  or  even  the  saints  and  angels  in  heaven, 
to  aid  him  with  their  prayers,  and  he  is  humbly  grateful  to 
these  earthly  and  heavenly  benefactors  for  their  intercessions. 
His  religion  is  like  that  of  the  apostles — practical,  ever-active, 
ardent,  emotional,  soul-inspiring.  Trace  the  practical  results 
throughout  all  their  ramifications,  and  they  v/ill  almost  uni- 
versally be  found  good. 

A  certain  class  of  men  object  to  demonstrativeness  in  all 
forms  and  in  all  things.  These  men  pride  themselves  upon 
their  imperturbability,  their  coolness,  their  lack  of  every  thing 
like  human  feeling,  passion,  sentiment,  or  emotion.  They  re- 
gard with  contempt  the  man  who  weeps  at  the  sight  of  human 
suffering  and  distress,  or  manifests  enthusiasm  and  delight  in 
contemplating  acts  of  heroism,  noble  daring,  and  disinter- 
ested benevolence.  Cool  is  stamped  upon  every  feature, 
every  thought,  word,  and  act ;  and  if  the  last  trump  should 
sound,  and  the  world  become  illuminated  by  the  last  dread 
torch  of  the  Almighty,  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  would 
turn  to  the  right  or  the  left  for  fear  that  their  equanimity 
might  be  disturbed. 

This  class  is  an  extensive  one.  In  the  family  group,  in 
the  social  circle,  in  the  church,  and  in  the  political  arena,  it 
exercises  a  pov^^erfnl  influence  in  Protestant  communities. 
At  the  family  board  it  is  deemed  undignified  to  recognize 
any  manifestation  of  love,  afi'ection,  or  other  sentiment  which 


THE   CATIIEDKALB,    ETC.  190 

develops  emotion  or  heart-felt  ebullitions  of  any  kind.  A 
loving  word,  a  tender  look,  or  an  affectionate  caress,  is  recip- 
rocated by  a  gruff  monosyllable,  a  frown,  or  a  cold  repulse ; 
for  a  smile,  a  scowl ;  for  a  melting  glance,  an  icy  stare ;  for 
an  affectionate  caress,  a  witliering  repulse.  These  are  the 
characteristics  of  a  majority  of  what  are  termed  "  men  of  the 
world,"  fashionable  men,  society  men,  leaders  in  the  high  life 
of  wealth,  religion,  and  politics. 

And  what  are  necessarily  the  fruits  of  these  affectations — 
these  perversions  of  the  best  instincts  of  the  heart?  Love, 
affection,  esteem,  respect,  admiration,  ail  require  fuel  in  kind 
to  keep  them  alive  and  sustain  them  in  their  freshness  and 
purity.  Deprive  them  of  this  natural  food,  and  they  pine, 
wither,  and  decay;  and  the  rich  garden  of  the  heart  grows  up 
to  rank  weeds  and  brambles. 

The  human  heart  is  naturally  selfish,  cold,  and  inclined  to 
wickedness.  Left  to  itself  uncontrolled  by  those  influences 
which  appeal  to  reason,  conscience,  and  the  elevating  emo- 
tions, it  becomes  a  certain  prey  to  the  devices  of  Satan.  Had 
the  religion  which  now  governs  the  Church  been  framed  by 
man  instead  of  the  Almighty,  all  inconvenient  rules  and  regu- 
lations would  have  been  omitted,  and  a  liberal,  transcendental, 
and  comfortable  one  would  have  been  adopted.  What  man 
would  have  invented  a  religious  system  which  should  punish 
with  eternal  perdition  an  unrepented  violation  of  one  of  the 
commands  of  the  decalogue?  What  man  would  have  estab- 
lished the  sacrament  of  penance,  so  repugnant  to  human 
pride  and  human  inclination  ?  What  man^  desirous  of  the 
progress  and  welfare  of  the  Church,  would  have  instituted 
the  other  sacraments  and  ceremonies  as  an  essential  part  of 
Christianity  ?  What  man  would  have  made  the  road  which 
leads  to  heaven,  narrow,  tortuous,  and  full  of  obstructions, 
dangers,  temptations,  and  tribulations,*  when  he  might  have 

*  When  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples  of  An- 
tioch,  and  exhorting  them  to  continue  in  theiaith,  they  declared  to  them  "  that 
we  must  through  much  tribulation  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." — (Acts 
xiv.  22.) 


200  CHKISTIANITY   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

opened  a  thoroughfare  ns  expansive  and  as  seductive  as  sin 
itself? 

A  most  potent  argument  in  favor  of  the  divine  origin  of 
the  Catholic  Church  consists  in  the  fact  that  her  dogmas  and 
her  discipline  clash  with  the  natural  instincts  and  propensities 
of  men. 


ClIAPTEE   XYII. 

TAPAL     SUPREMACY. 

One  of  tliG  priiicij3al  objections  of  Protestants  against  the 
Churcli  of  liome  is  the  doctrine  of  pa^^al  supremacy.  The 
sum  of  these  objections  is,  that  the  Church  had  no  organi- 
zation, no  unity,  no  visibility,  no  definite  ecclesiastical  prin- 
ciples, and  no  working  plan  or  concert  of  action,  during  the 
early  ages ;  but  that  the  entire  body  of  those  who  professed 
Christianity— Donatists,  Arians,  Pelagians,  Marcionites,  No- 
vatians.  Catholics,  etc. — constituted  the  Church.  That  is, 
those  who  asserted  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  true  God,  and 
those  who  maintained  that  He  was  only  a  man  and  a  prophet, 
arc  all  to  be  regarded,  according  to  the  objectors,  as  true  and 
equal  members  of  the  one  Lord,  one  Church,  one  Faitli,  and 
one  Baptism  founded  by  the  Son  of  God.  It  is  claimed  that 
the  only  bond  of  unity  among  the  Christians  of  these  periods 
was  a  vague  and  general  belief  in  the  tenets  taught  by  Christ, 
and  opposition  to  tlie  polytheistic  doctrines  of  pagan  Rom.e  ; 
that  there  was  no  regularly  organized  body  of  ministers,  no 
definite  rule  of  faith,  no  uniform  mode  of  worship,  no  visi- 
ble and  generally  recognized  Church,  and  no  bishop  who 
was  regarded  as  the  head  of  the  Church.  But  the  proofs 
are  ample  and  conclusive,  from  both  sacred  and  profane  his- 
tory, that  the  Roman  pontifis  have  always  been  recognized 
as  the  supreme  heads  of  the  entire  Christian  Church,  up  to 
the  revolt  of  the  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Vol- 
umes of  testimony  might  be  adduced  in  suj^port  of  this  as- 
9* 


202  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

scrtion,  but  want  of  space  compels  us  to  limit  ourselves  to 
tlie  citation  of  a  few  pertinent  facts. 

1.  For  the  practical  promulgation  and  development  of 
His  doctrines,  it  is  probable  that  our  Saviour  adopted  the 
most  natural  and  efficient  means  of  accomplishing  the  object. 
He  left  nothing  to  chance,  nothing  to  human  caprice,  nothing 
vague,  doubtful,  disorganizing,  but  a  divinely  instituted  and 
divinely  protected  ecclesiastical  corporation,  with  its  supreme 
chief,  and  its  subordinate  ministers  and  agents,  as  the  special 
means  of  establishing  Christianity  among  the  nations.     In 
the  establishment  and  perpetuation  of  His  Church  He  relied 
upon  ordinary  human  methods  and  agencies,  organized  a 
working  ministry,  taught  them  the  truths  He  had  received 
from   the  Father,  endowed  them  with  special  graces  and 
powers,  and  commanded  them  to  preach  and  teach  the  same 
doctrines  to  all  nations.     In  order  to  secure  for  this  organi- 
zation unity  and  concert  of  action,  it  was  necessary  that 
there  should  be  a  directing  and  controlling  head,  a  centre  of 
unity  and  action,  around  which  the  entire  Christian  world 
could  rally,  and  which  should  serve  as  the  representative 
sovereignty  of  the  Church.      It  was  necessary  that  there 
should  be  a  chief  Father  and  Governor,  whose  duty  it  should 
be  to  preside  over,  not  only  the  immediate  ministers  of  the 
Church,  but  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  entire  Christian  fam- 
ily.    Had  this  not  been  the  design  of  our  Saviour,  He  would 
have  made  no  distinction  between  the  apostles,  but  would 
have  conferred  equal  powers  upon  all  of  them.     Instead  of 
this,  however.  He  selected  from  their  number  o^ie — not  St. 
Andrew  the  eldest,  not  St.  Paul  the  boldest  and  most  zealous, 
not  St.  John  the  most  beloved,  but  Peter — and  upon  him  He 
founded  His  Church,  and  unto  him,  as  the  chief  of  the  eccle- 
siastical body.  He  gave  the  keys,  with  the  assurance  that  He 
would  be  v,'ith  this  Church  forever.     After  the  ascension, 
Peter  assumed  and  performed  the  duties  of  the  papal  office 
until  his  martyrdom,  a.  d.  66.* 

*  According  to  St.  Jerome,  "  Simon  Peter,  the  son  of  John,  of  the  town 
of  Bc'thsaitla,  brother  of  the  apostle  Andrew,  anjl  prince  of  the  apostles,  after 


PAPAL   SUPREMACY.  203 

In  no  other  way  but  this  could  the  Church  liave  per- 
petuated itself.  Without  a  visible  aud  directing  head  she 
could  not  have  retained  her  organization,  unity,  or  existence, 
for  a  dozen  generations.  If  a  ruler  and  rej)resentative  and 
administrative  head  is  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  a  na- 
tion, how  much  more  is  such  a  ruler  and  representative  ne- 
cessary in  a  Church  which  has  for  its  spiritual  subjects  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  !  Even  in  the  subordinate  branches 
of  governments,  each  bureau  must  have  its  chief,  with 
special  powers  and  functions,  or  confusion  and  disorganiza- 
tion would  result.  In  every  branch  of  industry  and  trade, 
where  considerable  numbers  of  men  are  interested,  it  is  a 
universal  custom  to  apj^oint  a  president  or  governor  as  head 
and  general  director  of  the  corporation,  to  whom  all  subor- 
dinates report,  from  whom  they  receive  their  orders,  and 
around  whom  the  parties  interested  may  concentrate  for  in- 
formation, instruction,  and  cooperation.  Without  such  con- 
trolling and  executive  heads,  nations  and  corporations  would 
speedily  come  to  naught.  What  would  be  thought  of  an 
army  which  should  enter  upon  a  campaign  without  a  general- 
in-chief — a  supreme  and  directing  head — to  whom  all  other 
officers  and  soldiers  Avere  subordinate  ?  What  would  be  the 
fate  of  such  an  army  if  equal  autliority  and  equal  powers 
pertained  to  all  of  the  generals,  and  each  one  gave  directions 
and  pursued  plans  as  he  pleased  ?  What  would  become  of 
its  discipline,  unity,  concert  of  action,  and  efficiency  ?  Such 
a  military  organization  would  meet  the  approval  of  no  sane 
man. 

For  the  perpetuation  of  His  Church  our  Saviour  adopted 
the  same  natural  and  indispensable  organization  which  is 
universally  employed  in  national,  military,  industrial,  and 
commercial  affairs — a  corporate  body  with  a  supreme  and 
governing  head.     The  consummate  wisdom  of  this  arrange- 

exercising  the  episcopate  over  the  church  of  Antioch,  went  to  Rome ;  for 
thirty-three  years  in  all  he  held  the  sacerdotal  chair.  Buried  at  Rome,  in  the 
Vatican,  near  the  Via  Triumphalis,  he  is  honored  with  the  veneration  of  the 
whole  city." — {Cat.  Script.  Eccles.) 


204:  CHEISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

ment  will  "be  appreciated  when  we  contemplate  the  trials 
and  perils  through  which  the  Church  has  passed,  during  the 
first  three  centuries  of  Roman  persecution,  during  the  dark 
ages  when  Europe  was  overrun  by  the  barbarians,  and 
during  the  last  four  infidel  and  innovating  centuries  of  the 
Christian  era. 

2.  An  unbroken  succession  of  Bishops  of  Rome  can  be 
traced  from  St.  Peter  to  the  present  pontifl",  and  the  suprem- 
acy of  these  bishops  has  been  acknowledged  by  all  the  promi- 
nent holy  fathers  since  the  days  of  the  apostles. 

It  would  require  many  volumes  to  give  in  detail  all  the 
clearly  established  facts  with  reference  to  the  apostolic  suc- 
cession from  St.  Peter  to  the  present  time.  The  chain  of 
evidence,  however,  establishing  the  direct  succession  from 
the  apostles  in  the  Catholic  Church  is  conclusive.  This  is 
evident,  1st,  from  the  fact  that  the  doctrines  and  practices 
of  the  Catholic  Church  have  always  coincided  -peTfectlj  with 
those  of  the  Church  founded  by  Christ,  presided  over  by 
Peter  after  the  ascension,  and  administered  by  the  apostles 
and  their  pastoral  contemporaries ;  2d,  from  the  writings  of 
nearly  all  the  fathers  of  the  Church  for  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  years ;  3d,  from  the  traditions  of  the  Jevv^s  and  other 
opponents  of  Christ,  and  the  most  eminent  historians  of  the 
first  centuries  of  our  era,  like  Eusebius,  Irenseus,  etc. ;  4th, 
all  the  prophecies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  clearly  indicate 
that  the  Catholic  is  the  true  apostolic  Church. 

To  those  who  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the  de- 
tails respecting  the  appointment  of  bishops  of  the  churches 
by  the  apostles,  and  of  their  successors  down  to  the  present 
day,  we  beg  leave  to  refer  to  the  following  works :  Sconce's 
"Testimony  of  Antiquity,"  Kenrick's  "Primacy,"  and  other 
reputable  authorities. 

The  scope  of  this  work  only  permits  us  to  present  a  brief 
outline  of  the  chain  of  testimony  relating  to  the  apostolic 
succession,  as  follows : 

1.  After  our  blessed  Saviour  had  delivered  to  mankind 
His  sacred  doctrines,  and  presented  a  life-long  example  of 


PAPAL   SUPREMACY.  205 

perfect  holiness  on  earth  and  love  to  man,  He  called  together 
His  apostles  and  informed  them  that  the  end  of  His  mission 
drew  near.  At  this  interview  He  selected  from  the  others 
His  favorite  apostle  St.  Peter,  and  created  him  the  head  of 
His  Church. 

During  his  lifetime,  St.  Peter,  as  head  bishop  of  the 
Church,  ordained  his  subordinate  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons, 
sent  them  to  the  different  nations  as  ministers,  gave  them 
instructions  and  advice  as  to  their  missions,  received  their 
reports,  and  was  regarded  by  all  the  disciples  as  the  author- 
ized and  supreme  head  and  representative  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  on  earth. 

2.  From  the  apostles,  the  ejDiscopate  descended  next  in 
order  to  Linus,  a.  d.  66,  to  w^hom  St.  Paul  alludes  in  his  Epis- 
tles to  Timothy. 

3.  The  successor  of  Linus,  was  Anacletus  (or  Cletus,  as 
he  is  termed  by  Tertullian),  a.  d.  78. 

4.  From  Anacletus  the  episcopate  descended  to  Clement, 
A.  D.  91,  the  third  head  of  the  Church  from  the  apostles. 
At  this  period,  divisions  and  dissensions  arose  among  the 
Corinthians  respecting  the  tenets  of  the  Church,  and  a  re- 
formatory council  of  the  Church  was  held,  authoritative  let- 
ters were  sent  them,  the  errors  of  faith  were  corrected,  and 
peace  was  restored.  This  was  probably  among  the  first  re- 
formatory efforts  of  the  Church.  St.  Clement  had  seen  and 
heard  the  apostles  ])reach. 

5.  Evaristus  succeeded  to  Clement  as  the  fourth  head 
bishop  of  the  Church,  a.  d.  100. 

6.  To  Evaristus  succeeded  Alexander  L,  a.  d.  109,  as  the 
fifth  head  of  the  Church. 

7.  To  Alexander  succeeded  Sixtus  L,  as  the  sixth  from  the 
apostles,  A.  D.  119. 

8.  To  Sixtus  succeeded  Telesphorus,  a.  d.  127,  who  suf- 
fered martyrdom,  as  the  seventh  head  of  the  Church. 

9.  To  Telesphorus  succeeded  Ilyginus,  the  eighth  remove 
from  the  apostles,  a.  d.  139. 

10.  To  Hyginus  succeeded  Pius,  the  ninth  representative 
from  the  apostles,  a.  d.  149. 


206  CIIKTSTIANITY   Ai^D   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

11.  To  Pius  succeeded  Auicetus,  as  the  tenth  head  of  the 
Church,  A.  D.  157. 

12.  To  Anicetus  succeeded  Soter,  the  eleventh  place  from 
the  apostles,  a.  d.  168. 

13.  To  Soter  succeeded  Eleutherius,  the  twelfth  head  of 
the  Church  after  the  apostles,  in  177.  Ancient  Britain  first  de- 
rived her  real  Christianity,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
Venerable  Bede,  from  the  two  legates  of  Pope  Eleutherius, 
viz.,  St.  Fugatius  and  St.  Damianus,  sent  to  King  Lucius  at 
his  own  special  request.  These  legates  baptized  the  king 
and  his  household,  and  made  many  proselytes  in  his  domin- 
ions. If  there  had  existed  any  other  authorized  bishop  or 
church  in  England  or  elsewhere  to  whom  the  British  king 
could  have  applied  for  instruction  in  the  mysteries  and  prac- 
tices of  the  true  Christian  faith,  Avould  he  have  sent  his  mes- 
sengers, Elvanus  and  Medwinus  to  the  See  of  Ilome  for  aid 
and  instruction  ?  There  were  subordinate  bishops  nearer 
home,  like  St.  Irenseus,  bishop  of  Lyons,  and  others,  but 
King  Lucius  availed  himself  of  the  supreme  authority  and 
head  of  the  Church,  in  his  efforts  to  indoctrinate  his  subjects 
with  the  truths  of  Christianity. 

The  writings  of  SS.  Clement,  a.  d,  91,  of  Ignatius,  a.  d. 
100,  of  St.  Polycarp,  a.  d.  110,  of  St.  Dionysius  of  Corinth, 
A.  D.  1G8,  of  St.  Irenaeus,  a.  d.  177,  of  Praxeas,  a.  u.  201, 
of  Tertullian,  a.  d.  204,  of  Origen,  a.  d.  230,  of  St.  Hii^pol- 
ytus,  A.  D.  230,  of  St.  Cyprian,  a.  d.  250,  and  numerous 
others,  clearly  demonstrate  the  facts  herein  detailed  respect- 
ing the  apostolic  succession. 

14.  The  next  pope  after  Eleutherius  was  St.  Victor,  a.  d. 
193.  This  pope  was  peculiarly  rigid  in  sustaining  the  author- 
ity of  the  Church.  Among  the  acts  which  were  objected  to, 
even  by  such  bishoj)S  as  St.  Irenceus,  during  his  administra- 
tion, we  cite  that  of  ''•  threatening  the  Asiatic  Church  with 
excommunication,  for  observing  the  Easter  after  the  Jewish 
custom."  All  authorities  agree,  however,  that  his  actual 
decrees  were  always  respected  by  the  entire  Church. 

15.  The  next  pope  after  St.  Victor  was  Zephyrinus,  who 


rAPAL   SUrEEMACY.  207 

succeeded  to  the  papacy  a.  d.  202.  His  decrees,  and  bis 
autlioritative  commimications  to  the  Church,  indicated  that 
he  regarded  himself  as  the  legitimate  successor  of  St.  Peter. 
(See  the  writmgs  of  Tertullian,  Origen,  and  others  upon  this 
point.) 

It  would  be  highly  interesting  to  trace  the  unbroken  suc- 
cession of  Roman  pontiffs  from  St.  Peter  to  Pius  IX.,  to 
examine  the  events  of  each  jDeriod,  and  thus  to  j)lace  before 
the  reader  the  vast  benefits  which  these  holy  men  have  con- 
ferred upon  mankind.  A  work  of  this  kind  would  occupy 
thousands  of  pages,  and  would  not  only  present  a  history  of 
the  Roman  pontiffs,  of  the  apostolic  succession,  and  of  the 
Church,  but  a  continuous  history  of  contests  of  peoples 
against  aristocrats,  of  popular  rights  against  despotic  usurj^a- 
tions,  with  the  entire  influence  of  the  Roman  pontiff s  and  the 
Jlcman  Church  always  on  the  side  of  the  people. 

Many  Protestants  have  asserted,  among  them  M.  Guizot, 
to  whom  we  have  before  alluded,  that  there  was  no  regularly 
organized  Church,  or  priesthood,  or  religious  code,  during 
the  first  three  hundred  years  of  the  Christian  era ;  and  there- 
fore that  there  was  no  regular  succession  of  Roman  bishops. 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  first  Christians  had  no  public 
churches,  no  monasteries,  no  colleges,  no  revenues,  and  no 
open  councils  ;  but,  as  we  have  already  observed,  M.  Guizot 
errs  grossly  when  he  asserts  that  they  had  "  no  settled  form 
of  doctrine,  no  settled  rules  of  discipline,  no  body  of  magis- 
trates." We  have  shown  from  the  Scriptures  that  Jesus 
Christ  did  communicate  to  His  apostles  a  "  settled  form  of 
doctrine "  in  His  sermon  upon  the  mount,  in  the  ten  com- 
mandments, in  the  Lord's  prayer,  and  in  the  sacraments 
which  He  instituted.  When  He  instructed  and  disciplined 
the  chosen  twelve  in  His  fixed  and  everlasting  truths,  and 
then  commissioned  and  sent  them  as  His  agents  and  minis- 
ters to  preach  and  teach  the  nations  all  those  things  which 
tliey  had  heard  from  Him,  He  undoubtedly  did  organize  a 
"  body  of  ecclesiastical  magistrates,"  endowed  with  a  divine- 
ly settled   "  form  of  doctrine,"  and  divinely  settled  "  rules 


208  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

of  discipline."  The  apostles  received  their  appointments  as 
ministers  and  missionaries  of  the  Church  directly  from  the 
lijis  of  Christ.  Had  not  the  Author  and  Founder  of  the 
Christian  Church  full  jurisdiction  over  it  ?  Did  He  found 
this  Church  Avithout  any  "  settled  form  of  doctrine,"  any 
"settled  rules  of  discipline,"  or  any  "body  of  magistrates" 
to  represent  and  administer  it  ?  Such  an  idea  is  entirely 
untenable.  The  apostles  had  heard  Christ  announce  person- 
ally all  His  doctrines,  His  rules  of  discipline,  and  His  mode 
of  propagating  Christianity.  These  doctrines,  these  rules, 
this  mode  of  propagation,  and  the  legitimate  body  of  magis- 
trates were  then  permanently  settled,  and  have  ever  since 
remained  substantially  the  same.  In  the  first  three  centu- 
ries of  pagan  Rome,  as  well  as  during  the  darkness  and  bar- 
barism of  the  middle  ages,  and  in  distant  savage  missionary 
regions,  the  complete  machinery  of  the  Church,  with  the 
forms  and  ceremonies  pertaining  to  it,  could  not  always  be 
brought  into  requisition ;  but  they  all  existed  in  the  sanctu- 
ary of  the  Church,  ready  to  be  more  perfectly  developed 
when  Christianity  could  emerge  from  her  hiding-places  in 
the  earth  to  the  light  of  day. 

St.  Paul  commissioned  and  sent  Timothy,  Titus,  and  other 
fathers  to  ordain  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  in  every  place, 
with  authority  to  ordain  and  confer  the  powers  of  the  priest- 
hood upon  other  faithful  men.  Were  not  the  bishops,  priests, 
and  deacons  thus  created  a  regularly  constituted  and  author- 
itative "  body  of  magistrates  "  ? 

While  this  organized  body  of  ministers  were  attempting 
to  preach  and  teach  the  new  gospel,  they  were  pursued  from 
place  to  place,  persecuted,  stoned,  imprisoned,  and  tormented 
by  their  adversaries ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  this,  their  organiza- 
tion remained  unbroken,  and  the  ordinances  and  offices  of  the 
priesthood  were  faithfully  administered.  Also,  when  their 
successors  were  hunted  from  catacomb  to  catacomb  under 
the  streets  of  imperial  Rome,  the  priesthood  still  preserved 
its  organization,  administered  the  sacraments,  and  operated 
as  the  visible  Church  of  God  on  earth.     They  could  not 


PAPAL   SUPREMACY.  209 

boast  of  magiiificent  cathedrals  and  churches,  or  institutions 
of  learning,  or  of  rich  offerings  from  the  faithful,  by  means  of 
which  they  could  render  more  honor  and  better  service  to  God  ; 
but  they  could  still  elect  a  supreme  pontiff,  still  ordain  bish- 
ops, priests,  and  deacons  ;  still  preach,  teach,  and  administer 
the  sacraments  as  the  apostles  had  done  before  them.  The 
first  Christians  were  from  the  ranks  of  the  people — poor  and 
humble  fishermen,  artisans,  laborers — and  if  their  religion 
and  their  organization  have  but  little  sj^ace  in  the  classical 
pages  of  Pliny,  Martial,  Tacitus,  Seneca,  or  Quintilian,  it  is 
because  these  jDolished  writers  were  of  the  patrician  class, 
pagans,  devoted  to  the  luxuries  and  pleasures  of  the  world, 
and  flatterers  of  the  sensual  aristocrats  of  the  empire. 

From  the  writings  of  the  fathers  of  the  Church  the  testi- 
mony is  overwhelming,  that  the  supremacy  of  the  papal  See, 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church,  have  ahvays  been 
recognized  and  sustained.  If  space  permitted,  we  could  fill  a 
volume  with  quotations  from  the  writings  of  these  holy  men 
in  proof  of  the  fact.  When  it  is  remembered  that  some  of 
these  early  fathers  had  listened  to  the  preaching  of  the  aj^os- 
tles,  enjoyed  their  friendship,  been  ordained  by  them,  and 
finally  suffered  persecutions,  poverty,  privations,  and  martyr- 
dom in  the  cause,  it  will  be  admitted  that  their  opinions  and 
their  assertions  are  entitled  to  entire  respect  and  confidence. 
For  example,  St.  Clement  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the 
apostle  St.  Peter,  and  was  designed  by  the  latter  as  his  suc- 
cessor. St.  Ignatius  was  a  friend  and  disciple  of  the  apostle 
St.  John.  He  succeeded  St.  Peter  as  bishop  of  Antioch.  St. 
Polycarp,  according  to  Irenseus,  "  was  instructed  by  apostles, 
and  lived  in  familiar  friendship  with  many  who  had  seen  the 
Lord."  St.  Irena3us  was  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and  thus  re- 
ceived his  instructions  from  a  friend  and  disciple  of  St.  John  and 
other  apostles.  As  a  type  of  the  opinions  of  the  early  fathers, 
we  present  the  following  extracts  from  the  writings  of  a  few  of 
those  who  received  their  views  and  inspiration  directly  from 
our  Lord  or  His  immediate  disciples.  Eusebius,  the  Arian,  and 
St.  Irenajus,  both  assort  that  when  Clement  was  bishop  of 


210  cnmsTiANiTY  and  its  conflicts. 

Rome,  A.  D.  95,  there  was  a  difference  of  opinion  upon  some 
doctriDal  point  among  the  Corinthians,  and  that  they  ap- 
pealed to  Clement  as  head  of  the  Church,  and  accej^ted  his 
decision  as  authoritative  respecting  the  matter  in  dispute. 
He  sent  three  leojates  to  them  with  instructions  to  investiofate 
the  question,  and  then  to  report  to  him.  Upon  this  report  a 
decision  was  rendered,  the  paternal  mandate  was  submitted 
to,  and  peace  and  concord  was  again  restored.  In  this  early 
example  the  supreme  authority  of  Clement  was  practically 
acknowledged,  o.nd  precisely  the  same  course  of  procedure 
adopted,  as  has  since  been  employed  by  the  subsequent  poj)es 
under  similar  circumstances.  Tlie  disciple  of  St.  John,  St, 
Ignatius,  a.  d.  100,  says,  "  I  exhort  you  that  ye  study  to  do 
all  things  in  a  divine  unanimity,  the  bishop  holding  presidency 
in  the  place  of  God,  and  the  presbyters  in  the  place  of  the 
council  of  the  apostles ;  and  the  deacons,  most  dear  to  me, 
intrusted  with  tlie  service  of  Jesus  Christ."  St.  Polycarp, 
A.  D.  110,  also  went  to  Rome  to  obtain  the  decision  of  Pope 
Anicetus  respecting  the  proper  observance  of  Easter.  The 
decision  of  the  pontiff  was  regarded  and  obeyed  by  St.  Poly- 
carp and  his  friends  as  authoritative  and  final.  St.  Iren^us, 
the  disciple  of  Polycarp,  Avho  lived  a.  d.  177,  writes  as  follows : 
"  But  as  it  would  be  a  very  long  task  to  enumerate,  in  such 
a  volume  as  this,  the  successions  of  all  the  churches,  pointing 
out  that  tradition  which  the  greatest  and  most  ancient,  and 
universally  known.  Church  of  Rome — founded  and  consti- 
tuted by  the  two  most  glorious  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul — 
derives  from  the  apostles,  and  that  faith  announced  to  all 
men,  which  through  the  succession  of  her  bishops  has  come 
down  to  us,  we  confound  all  of  those  who,  in  any  way, 
whether  through  self-complacency  or  vainglory,  or  blindness, 
or  perverse  opinion,  assemble  otherv/ise  than  as  behooveth 
them.  For  to  this  Church,  on  account  of  more  potent  prin- 
cipality, it  is  necessary  that  every  church,  that  is,  those  who 
are  on  every  side  faithful,  resort,  in  which  Church  ever,  by 
those  who  are  on  every  side,  has  been  preserved  that  tradi- 
tion which  is  from  the  apostles Tlie  blessed  apostles, 


PAPAL   SUPKEiMACY.  211 

then,  having  founded  and  built  up  that  Church,  committed 
the  sacred  office  of  the  episcopacy  to  Linus,  of  whom  Paul 
makes  mention  in  liis  Epistles  to  Timothy." 

After  enumerating  the  succession  of  23opes  from  Linus  to 
Eleutherius,  the  thirteenth  from  the  apostles,  L'cngcus  re- 
marks :  "  By  this  order  and  hy  this  succession,  both  that  tra- 
dition which  is  in  the  Church  from  the  apostles,  and  the 
preaching  of  the  truth,  have  come  down  to  us.  And  this  is 
a  most  complete  demonstration,  that  the  vivifying  faith  is 
one  and  the  same,  which,  from  the  apostles  even  until  now, 
has  been  preserved  in  the  Church  and  transmitted  in  truth- 
fulness." 

In  the  year  204,  Tertullian  addressed  the  Roman  pontiff 
in  these  words :  "  Supreme  pontiffs  hisliop  of  bishops,  tlie 
most  blessed  pope  ; "  and  alludes  to  his  presidency  over  the 
ether  churches. 

In  the  year  of  our  Lord  250,  St.  Cyprian  taught,  "  that 
the  Church  has  one  head,  and  one  source,  and  one  mother, 
namely.  Home,  which  is  the  Locus  Petri,  the  Cathedra  Petri, 
the  Ecclesia  Principalis,  the  Radix,  and  Caput  of  the  Church. 
....  The  See  of  Rome  has  universal  jurisdiction." 

Even  Marcion,  the  heretic,  acknowledged  the  supremacy 
and  authority  of  the  Roman  See,  when  he  applied  to  Pope 
Hyginus  for  a  restoration  to  the  Church,  after  he  had  been 
excommunicated,  a.  d.  120. 

St.  Athanasius  writes,  a.  d.  330 :  "Peter  alon-e  of  all  the 
apostles  left  an  actual  successor,  who,  therefore,  succeeded 
not  only  to  his  apostolic  power,  but  to  his  headship,  or  suprem- 
acy over  the  Church." 

Again,  St.  Optatus  of  Milevis,  says :  "  In  the  city  of  Rome, 
on  Peter  the  first  was  the  episcopal  chair  conferred,  wherein 
might  sit  of  all  the  apostles  the  head,  Peter ;  whence  also  he 
vras  called  Cephas;  that  in  that  one  chair  unity  might  be 
preserved  by  all;  nor  the  other  apostles,  each  contend  for  a 
distinct  chair  for  himself;  and  that  whoso  should  set  up  an- 
other chair  against  the  single  chair,  might  at  once  be  a 
schismatic  and  a  sinner. 


212  CHEISTIAl^ITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

"Peter,  therefore,  first  filled  that  individual  chair,  which 
is  the  first  of  the  marks  of  the  Church ;  to  him  succeeded 
Linus-;  to  Linus  succeeded  Clement ;  to  Clement,  Anacletus," 
etc. 

Again,  St.  John  Chrysostom  says :  "  And  yet  after  so 
great  an  evil  (Peter's  denial  of  Christ),  He  (Christ)  again 
raised  him  to  his  former  honor,  and  intrusted  to  his  hand  the 
primacy  over  the  Universal  Church." 

Again,  St.  Augustine  says :  "  Li  the  Catholic  Church  the 
succession  of  priests  from  the  very  chair  of  the  apostle  Peter 
— to  whom  the  Lord  after  His  resurrection  committed  His 
sheep  to  be  fed — down  even  to  the  present  bishop,  keeps 
me,"  etc. 

Origen  lived  in  the  third  century,  and  his  writings  show 
that  he  always  appealed  to  the  traditions  of  the  Church  for 
correct  views  upon  religious  subjects. 

SS.  Alexander,  Ambrose,  Damascus,  Jerome,  Cyril,  and 
numerous  other  learned  historians  and  fiithers  of  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  centuries,  always  recognized  and  defended 
the  Church  and  the  papal  supremacy,  and  opposed  the  here- 
sies of  Arius,  l!^ovatian,  and  Marcianus. 

Almost  innumerable  extracts  might  be  adduced  to  the 
same  purj^ort,  but  we  have  been  obliged  to  confine  ourselves 
to  the  citation  of  the  opinions  of  a  few  prominent  fathers  and 
historians  who  Avere  contemporaneous  Avith  the  apostles,  and 
whose  personal  knowledge  of  the  received  doctrines  of  their 
day  renders  their  testimony  peculiarly  valuable. 

What  was  the  object  of  our  Saviour  in  establishing  a 
church  and  a  priesthood?  If  we  consider  that  the  object  of 
His  mission  to  earth  was  to  present  mankind  with  a  new  dis- 
pensation, a  new  religious  creed,  and  a  ncAV  form  of  worship, 
we  may  understand  why  a  church  and  a  priesthood  were 
necessary  to  accomplish  successfully  and  practically  the  di- 
vine object.  A  spiritual  kingdom  was  to  be  established, 
embracing  in  its  jurisdiction  the  entire  world — a  kingdom 
Avith  ncAV  and  stringent  principles,  \\q^  habits  and  observ- 
ances, and  AA^hich  was   antagonistic  to  all  the  ideas  of  the 


PAPAL    SUPREMACY.  213 

period.  By  no  other  mode  could  the  divine  object  have 
been  accomplished,  than  that  actually  adopted  by  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  establishment  of  a  Church  endowed  with  all 
truth,  an  organized  priestliood  with  a  supreme  and  govern- 
ing head,  and  a  subordinate  army  of  Christian  pastors  and 
laymen.  By  no  other  arrangement  could  efficiency  and 
harmony  have  been  maintained  in  this  vast  spiritual  do- 
minion than  by  a  universally  acknowledged  set  of  laws,  a 
sovereign  to  administer  the  government,  and  a  world-wide 
nation  of  faithful  and  obedient  subjects. 


CHAPTEE  XYIII. 

PAPAL    INFALLIBILITY. 

By  the  expression  infallibility  of  the  loope^  nearly  all 
Protestants  understand  that  the  Catholic  Church  regards  all 
the  words  and  acts  of  the  popes  as  infallible,  and  that  they 
can  do  no  wrong.  Every  well-informed  Protestant  theologian 
is  fully  aware  that  no  poj)e  has  ever  made  any  pretension  of 
this  kind,  or  has  ever  attempted  to  exercise  any  such  prerog- 
ative ;  and  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  canons  and  decrees 
of  the  Catholic  Church  which  recognizes  any  such  powers,  as 
pertaining  to  the  papal  office.  These  men,  therefore,  are 
guilty  of  wanton  decej^tion,  in  j^ermitting  their  followers  to 
imbibe  and  hold  ideas  so  erroneous  toward  the  ancient  and 
original  Church,  and  her  authorized  representative. 

The  pope  possesses  no  infallibility,  no  authority,  and  no 
powers,  except  such  as  pertain  to  him  as  a  constituent  and 
essential  portion  of  the  Church.  So  far  as  relates  to  his  legit- 
imate connection  with  the  Church,  his  functions,  duties,  and 
authority  as  supreme  bishop,  and  chief  pastor  of  the  univer- 
sal Christian  flock,  he  is  infallible,  provided  he  complies  with 
the  customary  formalities  and  requirements  of  the  canons  of 
the  Church,  and  violates  none  of  the  divine  laws.  As  the  vicar 
of  Christ,  and  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  the  pope  possesses 
the  primacy  of  jurisdiction,  in  virtue  of  the  declaration  of 
our  Saviour ;  but  in  the  exercise  of  this  jurisdiction,  he  cannot 
be  either  despotic  or  arbitrary,  because  no  act  or  decree,  or 
dogma,  is  ever  regarded  as  ex  cathedra^  and  binding  as  an 


TArAL    INFALLIBILITY.  215 

article  of  faith,  except  when  he  has  complied  with  the  fol- 
lowing conditions : 

1.  He  must  consult  with  the  chief  bishops  and  theologians 
of  the  Church.  2.  He  must  use  every  possible  means  for 
procuring  accurate  information  respecting  the  subject  in 
question.  3.  He  must  abide  by  all  the  characteristic  for- 
malities in  his  investigations  and  decisions.  4.  He  must  con- 
fine himself  to  questions  of  faith.  5.  He  must  test  the  moot- 
ed point  by  a  careful  examination  and  comparison  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  and  tradition.  6.  He  must  be  quite  certain 
that  he  is  right  in  his  conclusion.  V.  He  must  be  sure  that 
the  subject  addresses  itself  to  the  entire  Church.  8.  He  must 
not  invalidate  any  previous  dogmatic  decree  of  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors in  the  holy  See,  or  of  the  oecumenical  councils.  9. 
His  decision  must  be  confirmed  by  a  general  council,  or  by  the 
entire  Church. 

When  Christ  established  His  Church,  He  endowed  it  with 
all  His  written  and  unwritten  truths,  and  placed  St.  Peter 
at  the  head  of  it  as  His  earthly  vicar  and  representative. 
He  promised  to  remain  Vvdth  it  forever,  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
should  preside  over  it  as  its  perpetual  guardian  and  defender, 
and  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  prevail  against  it.  We 
have  repeatedly  alluded  to  these  vital  facts,  because  they 
stand  at  the  foundation  of  Catholicity,  and  because  they  ought 
to  be  indelibly  imj^resscd  upon  the  minds  of  all  Christians. 
We  refer  to  them  in  this  place,  that  the  reader  may  clearly 
see  that  this  divinely  founded,  divinely  endowed,  and  di- 
vinely i:>rotected  Church  must  of  necessity  be  permanent, 
unchangeable,  infaUible.  To  doubt  this,  would  be  to  doubt 
the  sincerity  of  Christ  in  giving  His  apostles  His  positive 
promise,  or  His  ability  to  fulfil  it.  Certainly  no  one  doubts 
the  infallibility  of  a  Church  thus  founded,  thus  endowed, 
thus  guarded.  No  errors  of  doctrine,  or  falsehoods,  or 
abuses  can  enter  into  and  take  possession  of  a  Church  over 
which  the  Spirit  of  Truth  keeps  watch  and  guard,  and  with 
which  the  Son  of  God  solemnly  declared  He  would  remain 
forever.     Had  not  Jesus  Christ  the  power  thus  to  fulfil  His 


216  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

j)romise,  thus  to  remain  with  His  Church,  thus  to  maintain  its 
integrity  and  unity,  to  the  end  of  the  world  ?  If  the  response 
is  affirmative,  then  this  Church  must  be  infallible. 

What  constitutes  this  Church  ?  Undoubtedly  its  religious 
doctrines,  both  written  and  unwritten,  and  its  ecclesiastical 
organization,  with  its  supreme  chief,  and  its  subordinate 
officers  and  laymen.  In  founding  this  Church  upon  St.  Peter, 
and  placing  him  at  the  head  of  it  as  vicar,  by  special  order, 
our  Saviour  constituted  the  holy  See  and  its  occupant  as  an 
essential  portion  of  the  Church  itself.  Therefore,  it  is  that 
Catholics  hold  that  the  pope,  as  a  part  of  the  Church,  is  infal- 
lible in  all  matters  of  faith  and  morals,  except  in  the  exam- 
ples we  have  enumerated.  The  Church  cannot  err,  because 
the  Spirit  of  Truth  ever  animates  it ;  because  Christ  always 
remains  with  it ;  and  because  of  the  divine  promises  touching 
its  perpetual  integrity  and  preservation.  As  divinely  consti- 
tuted and  essential  elements  of  the  Church,  her  presiding 
rulers  cannot  err  in  the  exercise  of  their  legitimate  functions, 
because  they  are  the  legitimate  earthly  representatives  of 
Christ,  and  because  they  are  guarded  and  preserved  in  the 
ways  of  truth  by  the  Founder  of  Christianity.  For  these 
reasons  the  popes  have  always  been  in  accord  with  all  the 
general  oecumenical  councils  which  have  been  held  respecting 
articles  of  faith  and  morals.  For  these  reasons  all  those 
principles  of  Christianity  which  Christ  presented  to  the 
Church  have  ever  remained  immutable  and  infallible.  For 
these  reasons,  the  one  true  Church  has  ever  existed,  still 
exists,  and  vail  continue  to  exist  as  the  mother  and  mistress 
of  all  churches,  until  the  consummation  of  days. 

As  a  man,  a  theologian,  an  orator,  or  an  essayist,  discon- 
nected with  his  legitimate  functions  as  supreme  bishop  of  the 
Church,  the  words  or  the  published  sentiments  of  a  jDope 
have  no  higher  authority  than  those  of  ordinary  bishops  and 
theologians.  This  fact  has  repeatedly  been  acknowledged 
by  the  popes  themselves,  by  the  councils,  and  by  learned 
Catholic  fathers  and  theologians  of  all  ages.  In  his  Eireiii- 
con^  Dr.  Pusey  does  the  Catholic  Church  great  injustice  by 


PAPAL   INFALLIBILITY.  217 

insinuating  that  all  opinions  uttered  or  written  by  the  popes 
are  regarded  by  Catholics  as  infallible  and  binding  as  ar- 
ticles of  fliith.  The  popes  have  never  pretended  that  every 
opinion  they  might  utter  or  publish,  especially  when  such 
opinions  are  expressed  without  the  characteristic  formalities, 
and  without  complete  and  thoroucjh  investisration  and  knowl- 
edge,  should  be  regarded  as  oracular.  All  accusations  of 
this  kind  are  erroneous,  and  are  made  thoughtlessly,  or  with 
a  view  of  casting  odium  upon  the  holy  See.  The  most  zeal- 
ous defenders  of  the  prerogatives  of  the  papacy,  teach  a 
doctrine  quite  the  contrary  of  this.  All  agree  that  when  the 
pope  speaks  or  writes  as  a  private  doctor,  he  is  not  infallible. 
Thus  Benoit  XIV.,  in  the  preface  to  his  books  entitled  Be 
Synodo  Diocesana,  Avrites ;  "  AYe  willingly  subscribe  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  excellent  writer,  Melchior  Cano,  when  he  says, 
'  When  the  popes  publish  a  work  upon  any  subject,  they 
express  their  sentiments  like  other  learned  men  ;  but  in  these 
writings  they  are  not  regarded  as  judges  of  faith.'  " 

Pope  Gregory  XVI.  remarks  that,  "  even  in  a  definition 
where  the  sovereign  pontiif  pronounces  as  supreme  judge,  he 
expresses  liimself  sometimes  as  a  private  doctor ;  for  example, 
when  he  seeks  to  support  his  definition  by  proofs  and  theo- 
logical reasonings.  The  pope,  then,  is  only  a  simple  theo- 
logian, although  eminently  worthy  of  respect."  *  Pope  Greg- 
ory did  not  regard  any  papal  decree,  even  when  expressed 
ex  cathedra,  as  a  veritable  dogmatic  decision,  or  binding  as 
an  article  of  Catholic  faith,  which  did  not  pertain  to  a  ques- 
tion of  faith,  which  was  not  promulgated  Avith  an  entire 
certainty  and  confidence  of  its  correctness,  which  was  not 
regarded  as  obligatory  upon  the  consciences  of  the  faithful, 
which  was  not  addressed  to  the  entire  Church,  and  which 
was  not  perfected  in  due  form,  and  for  the  fulfilment  of  a 
definite  object. 

Pope  Innocent  IV.  gave  full  liberty  to  other  writers  to 
attack,  criticise,  and  refute,  if  they  were  able,  the  opinions 

*  Etudes  Relig.  Hist.,  Feb.  18G6,  p.  282. 
10 


218  CnRISTlANITT   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

expressed  in  any  of  his  works  which  were  written  during  his 
pontificate. 

In  the  proceedings  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  as  well  as  of 
those  of  previous  general  councils,  free  and  constant  inter- 
course and  consultations  upon  all  snhjects  before  the  coun- 
cils, have  been  held  between  the  members  of  the  councils  and 
the  sovereign  pontiffs.  Occasionally,  when  the  poj^e  has 
been  in  doubt  respecting  a  mooted  point,  he  has  referred  the 
final  decision  of  it  to  the  council,  confirmed  it  with  the 
pontifical  seal,  and  then  announced  it  as  a  dogma  of  the 
Church.  This  fact  proves  clearly  that  neither  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Church  nor  the  authority  of  the  pope  is  despotic 
or  arbitrary.  As  a  writer  in  ^Jtudes  Rellg.  Hist,  et  Lit.^ 
for  March,  1866,  page  284,  well  remarks:  "ISTeither  the 
popes,  nor  the  oscumenical  councils,  ever  proceed  to  acts  of 
such  high  importance  (decisions  respecting  articles  of  faith) 
without  making  thorough  preliminary  examinations,  with  a 
view  of  ascertaining  with  precision  the  present  and  past 
teachings  of  the  Church,  because  it  is  the  assistance,  and  not 
the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  has  been  promised 
them.  Bellarmin  exacts  these  examinations  under  penalty  of 
nullity  in  the  oecumenical  councils  ;  and  because  the  Council 
of  Constance  did  not  proceed  with  this  maturity  in  its  fourth 
session,  he  rejected  the  decree  passed  during  this  session. .  .  . 
The  intervention  of  the  holy  See  in  the  nomination  of  bishops, 
in  the  celebration  of  councils,  and  in  ecclesiastical  proced- 
ures, is  a  powerful  means  of  preserving  the  unity  of  commu- 
nion and  faith  in  the  Church.  If  this  intervention  should 
cease,  it  is  easy  to  foresee  that  rivalries,  contentions,  and  doc- 
trinal disputes  would  soon  occur.  If  the  primacy  of  the  holy 
See  ought  to  effect  any  thing,  it  is  to  prevent,  or  at  least  to 
suppress  these  evils.  This  is  v»^hy  this  intervention  is  a  nat- 
ural consequence  of  the  primacy  of  jurisdiction,  and  it  is,  in 
this  respect,  truly  a  divine  riglit.  If  this  intervention  is  sup- 
pressed, something  else  must  be  substituted  in  its  place ;  for 
primacy  of  jurisdiction,  which  is  the  foundation  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal unity,  ought  to  be  efiicacious  and  to  manifest  itself  by  acts 


TAPAL   INFALLIBILITY.  219 

of  authority.  Its  mode  of  operation  ought  to  vary  accord- 
ing to  times,  places,  and  the  laws  of  the  Church ;  hut  the 
principle  always  remains  the  same,  and  this  principle  Avhich 
consists  in  the  fact  that  the  pope  stands  in  the  place  of  Jesus 
Christ  as  the  good  pastor  of  His  sheep  and  His  Hock,  is  cer- 
tainly divine."  * 

To  insure  the  stability  of  governments,  certain  discre- 
tionary powers  are,  by  common  consent,  conferred  upon  em- 
perors, kings,  and  presidents.  Politically  speaking,  they  are 
regarded  as  the  fathers  and  rulers  of  their  subjects ;  and  in 
matters  pertaining  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  national 
family,  private  and  arbitrary  decisions  are  often  rendered, 
and  the  affairs  of  government  administered  according  to  these 
decisions.  Without  such  authority  on  the  part  of  rulers, 
there  would  be  no  stability  or  permanency  for  governments. 
The  rule  applies  Avith  equal  force  to  the  government  of  a 
church.  The  father  of  the  universal  Church  must  possess 
a  certain  amount  of  autliority,  and  certain  discretionary  povv^- 
ers  in  the  administration  of  the  government  of  the  Church, 
in  order  to  secure  its  uuity  and  perpetuity.  This  rule  coin- 
cides with  the  universal  practice  of  the  world  in  the  manage- 
ment of  all  important  secular  organizations  whether  national, 
local,  or  individual. 

Independently  of  the  divine  promises  of  protection  and 
preservation  touching  the  integrity,  unity,  and  perpetuity  of 
the  Church,  it  is  so  hedged  about  by  canonical  laws  and  pre- 
cautionary requisitions  and  safeguards,  that  it  is  not  in  the 
power  of  a  pope  to  introduce  into  the  Church,  as  an  article 
of  faith,  any  essential  error  or  abuse.  Whenever  serious  dan- 
gers have  threatened  the  Church,  or  differences  of  opinion 
have  arisen  respecting  essential  points  of  doctrine,  it  has 
been  the  uniform  custom  of  the  sovereign  pontiffs  to  convene 
general  councils  of  bishops  and  theologians  to  aid  them  with 
their  advice,  and  furnish  them  with  such  information  and 
such  reliable  facts  as  should  enable  them  to  arrive  at  correct 
conclusions.     As  an  instance  in  point,  we  cite  an  extract  from 

*  Ibid,  p.  386. 


220  CIIKISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

the  JBiill  of  Indiction  of  the  Council  of  Trent^  in  which  Paul 
III.,  after  alUicling  to  the  lamentable  dissensions  and  wars 
which  were  then  distracting  Christendom,  writes  as  follows : 
"  Wherefore,  having  been,  as  we  have  said,  called  upon  to 
guide  and  govern  the  bark  of  Peter,  in  so  great  a  tempest, 
and  in  the  midst  of  so  violent  an  ag-itation  of  the  waves  of 
heresies,  dissensions,  and  wars,  and  not  relying  sufficiently 
on  our  own  strength,  we,  first  of  all,  cast  our  cares  upon  the 
Lord,  *  that  He  might  sustain  us,  and  furnish  our  souls  with 
firmness  and  strength,  our  understanding  with  prudence  and 
wisdom.  Then,  recalling  to  mind  that  our  predecessors,  men 
endowed  with  admirable  wisdom  and  sanctity,  had  often,  in 
the  extremest  perils  of  the  Christian  commonweal,  had  re- 
course to  oecumenical  councils  and  general  assemblies  of  bish- 
ops, as  the  best  and  most  opportune  remedy,  we  also  fixed 
our  mind  on  holding  a  general  council ;  .  .  .  .  having  an  al- 
most assured  hope  that,  when  assembled  there  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord,  He,  as  He  promised,  would  he  in  the  midst  of  us,  f 
and,  in  His  goodness  and  mercy,  easily  dispel,  by  the  breath 
of  His  mouth,  all  the  storms  and  dangers  of  the  times." 

Before  Pope  Pius  IX.  rendered  his  definite  decision  re- 
specting the  immaculate  conception,  he  consulted  the  bishoj^s 
of  the  whole  world,  obtained  the  iropinions  and  advice,  and 
the  sentiments  of  those  in  their  dioceses.  He  also  personally 
examined  with  the  utmost  care  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the 
traditions  of  the  Church,  and  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  be- 
fore arriving  at  a  definite  conclusion. 

Our  opponents  aver  that  there  have  been  wicked  and 
corrupt  popes,  and  therefore  that  their  opinions  and  acts 
cannot,  and  should  not,  be  regarded  as  authoritative,  much 
less  infallible;  and  that  the  Church  which  they  represent 
cannot  be  the  true  Church. 

In  response  we  assert : 

1.  That  we  have  the  positive  declaration  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  this  Church,  with  its  sacred  truths,  and  its  organized 
priesthood,  shoidd  exist  forever  under  the  divhie  protection  y' 

*  Ps.  liv.  23.  f  Matt,  xviii.  20. 


PArAL   INFALLIBILITY.  221 

and  that  no  acts  of  individuals,  whether  tlicy  be  popes,  bish- 
ops, priests,  monarchs,  or  even  the  powers  of  darkness,  should 
prevail  against  it. 

2.  All  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Church  arc  so 
firmly  settled  and  established  by  former  jiontiffs  and  oecu- 
menical councils,  and  the  authority  of  the  holy  See  is  so  com- 
pletely hedged  around  by  precautionary  requisitions,  that  no 
pope,  however  bad  he  might  be,  could  successfully  pervert 
or  corrupt  the  divine  precepts  and  ordinances  of  the  Church. 

3.  If  an  unprincipled  pope  were  to  violate  all  the  com- 
mandments of  the  decalogue  daily,  and  place  the  papal  coro- 
net upon  his  brow  to  aid  him  in  serving  the  devil,  yet 
he  could  not  invalidate  the  solemn  promise  of  Christ,  he 
GOidd  not  prevail  against  the  Church,  he  coidd  not  set  aside 
or  expel  from  its  sanctuary — the  abode  of  the  Spirit  of 
Truth — a  single  precept  or  a  single  jot  or  tittle  of  those  holy 
truths  which  the  Father  in  heaven  gave  to  Christ,  and  which 
Christ  gave  to  the  apostles  and  to  the  Church.  Individual 
rej^resentatives  and  ministers  of  God  may  err,  but  the  immu- 
table truths  of  Christianity  are  written  by  the  finger  of  Jesus 
Christ  upon  the  everlasting  tablets  of  the  Church,  and  are 
there  sacredly  guarded  by  God  Himself. 

4.  When  on  earth  Christ  had  among  His  immediate  rep- 
resentatives, ministers,  friends,  and  personal  appointees,  a 
desperately  wicked  and  corrupt  apostle — a  liar,  a  thief,  a 
traitor,  and  a  murderer — Judas  Iscariot ;  but  the  crimes  of 
this  man  did  not  invalidate  the  divine  teachings,  or  give 
cause  for  the  breaking  of  the  unity,  harmony,  and  integrity 
of  the  apostolic  organization.  Neither  should  the  crimes  or 
the  defection  of  a  pope  impair  the  unity  and  the  integrity  of 
the  same  teachings  as  they  have  been  perpetuated  in  the 
Church.  K  one  of  the  trusted  apostles  of  our  Saviour  thus 
proved  recreant  to  his  high  calling,  would  it  be  strange  if 
other  corrupt  apostles  should  manifest  themselves  in  the 
Church  during  a  period  of  eighteen  centuries?  Ought  we 
to  expect  more  of  the  representatives  of  the  Church  during 
its  days  of  trial  and  persecution  in  the  mediajval  ages,  than 


222  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

existed  in  the  same  Cliiircli  during  the  lifetime  of  its  divine 
Founder? 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  pope  is  confined  solely  to  matters 
ap23ertaining  to  the  Church,  like  articles  of  faith  and  morals. 
As  a  component  part  of  the  Church,  when  he  exercises  his 
authority  within  the  prescribed  limits,  in  due  form,  and  with 
the  characteristic  formalities  and  requisite  precautions,  or  in 
accordance  with  the  advice  and  instructions  of  oecumenical 
councils,  his  decisions  are  infallible.  But  in  all  matters  out- 
side of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Church,  in  all  oi^inions  he  may 
utter  or  publish,  independently  of  the  prescribed  and  cus- 
tomary rules,  in  all  expressions  or  acts  which  are  antagonis- 
tic to  the  laws  and  commandments  of  God,  or  to  the  settled 
decisions  of  previous  popes  and  councils  upon  all  questions 
whatever,  where  diligent  and  thorough  investigation  has  not 
been  made,  where  doubts  exist  upon  the  subject,  or  w^here  it 
is  not  addressed  to  the  entire  Church,  he  is  not  infallible^  but 
is  to  be  regarded  as  a  private  doctor  and  theologian. 

We  shall  conclude  this  chajoter  by  presenting  to  the 
reader  the  opinions  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  author- 
itative theologians  of  the  Catholic  Church  upon  papal  su- 
j^remacy,  Veron. 

Upon  this  subject  Veron  writes  thus :  "  In  fact,  it  is  clear, 
from  Bellarmin  himself,  that  '  it  has  never  been  defied  by  the 
Church  that  the  pope  is  infallible  when  unassisted  by  a  gen- 
eral council,  nor  that  any  doctrine  advanced  and  projjosed 
by  him,  is,  in  consequence  of  such  proposal,  an  article  of 
Catholic  faith.'  All  divines,  consequently,  are  agreed,  as 
Bellarmin  allov/s,  that  papal  infallibility  is  no  doctrine  of 
the  Catholic  Church." 

"  No  Decretals  of  the  Roman  pontiffs  lohich  form  the 
body  of  Canon  Laio — as  the  six  booJcs  of  Decretals,  the 
Cleme?itines,  Extr an ag antes,  etc.,  no  bulls  issued  more  recent- 
ly of  these  Decretals,  by  the  successors  of  St.  Deter,  are  of 
sufficieiit  authority  to  prove  any  doctrine  an  article  of  Cath- 
olic faith.  No  doctrine  is  of  faith  because  it  happens  to 
have  been  taught  by  the  pope  in  one  of  the  above-mentioned 


PAPAL   INFALLIBILITY.  223 

works.  The  reason  is  clear.  The  pope,  in  whatever  char- 
acter, or  however  solemnly  he  may  give  his  opinion,  even 
in  scholastic  phraseology,  ex  cathedra,  is  not  the  universal 
Church,  and,  consequently,  Avhatever  may  be  his  private 
opinion,  and  hov/evcr  declared,  such  opinion  is  not,  on  that 
account,  ^^ropounded  by  the  Catholic  Church  as  an  article  of 
her  belief.  And,  observe  that  this  is  so  clearly  acknowledged 
by  all  theologians,  that  any  one  who  should  presume  to  ad- 
vance a  contrary  opinion  would  be  an  innovator,  and  expose 
himself  to  the  censures  of  the  Church,  as  a  broacher  of  new 
doctrine."  * 

Bellarmin  declares,  "  that  the  pope,  even  speaking  as  the 
successor  of  St.  Peter,  or  as  pope,  may  teach  heresy,  when 
he  takes  upon  himself  to  define  any  thing  without  the  con- 
currence of  a  general  council ;  and  even  be  an  actual  and 
formal  heretic."  f 

Pope  Adrian  YI.,  Bellarmin,  Gerson,  Almain,  De  Castro, 
and  many  other  eminent  theologians,  according  to  Veron, 
"  have  placed  the  infallibility  of  the  Church,  in  matters  of 
faith,  not  in  the  pope,  but  in  the  universal  Church,  or  rather 
in  a  general  council." 

"  JVo  decision  of  a  provhicial  council,  tJiough  the  p02ye 
X)reside  at  it  personally ,  or  hy  his  legates,  is  an  article  of 
Catholic  faith.  In  fact,  such  a  council  is  not  the  universal 
Church ;  and  consequently  the  doctrine  proposed  by  it  is 
not  thereby  proposed  by  the  universal  Church,  and  is 
not,  consequently,  an  article  of  Catholic  faith.  It  would, 
however,  become  such,  if  the  opinion  of  the  Church  were 
clearly  shown,  from  proper  sources,  to  have  been  pronounced 
in  its  favor.";];.  .  ."However,  as  the  authority,  both  of  the 
pope  and  of  provincial  councils,  is  very  great,  their  decisions 
are  to  be  received  with  a  corresponding  respect."  § 

"  Nor  are  all  practices  of  the  Church,  even  of  the  imiver- 

*  "  The  Rule  of  Faith,"  p.  12. 

\  Bellarmin,  lib.  iv.  dc  Pout.  Rom.,  cap.  2,  p.  209,  torn.  i.  Colon.  Agrip, 
An.  1628. 

X  "  The  Rule  of  Faith,"  p.  16.  §  Ibid.,  p.  17. 


224   .  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

sal  Church.^  a  sufficient  ground  for  an  article  of  Catholic 
faith.  This  is  clear,  since  the  second  condition  of  the  rule 
of  faith  is  wanting ;  these  practices  do  not  propose  a  doc- 
trine to  be  believed,  but  a  cnstom  to  be  observed.  .  .  .  Hence 
the  Church  may  make  what  alterations  she  pleases  in  these 
observances,  resting^  as  they  do,  on  merely  human  and  prob- 
able grounds.  .  .  .  But  decrees  of  faith  are  immutable,  and, 
once  propounded,  cannot  possibly  be  nullified."  * 

"  For  a  doctrine  to  be  of  faith,"  says  Bellarmin,  "  it  must 
have  been  expressly  defined  by  the  general  council  to  be  an 
article  of  Catholic  faith."  f 

Bellarmin  and  other  great  Catholic  theologians  declare 
that  no  decree  of  a  pope  or  a  general  council  is  binding  as  an 
article  of  Catholic  faith  which  does  not  pertain  to  the_Church, 
or  which  is  not  general,  or  addressed  to  the  whole  Church. 
IsTor  is  any  opinion  expressed,  or  act  performed  by  a  pope  or 
a  general  council  infallible,  respecting  any  subject  or  individ- 
ual, unless  the  above-named  conditions  are  com2)lied  witli, 
and  all  proper  sources  of  information  upon  the  question  have 
been  fully  examined. 

*  "  The  Rule  of  Faith,"  pp.  17,  IS. 

f  BellarmiD,  lib.  ii.,  Dc  Con.,  e.  17,  p.  2G7. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PAPAL  INTERFERENCE  IN  SECULAR  AEFAIRS. 

In  almost  every  recorded  instance  of  pontifical  interfe- 
rence with  civil  rulers,  it  will  be  found  that  the  cause  of 
religion,  justice,  liberty,  and  humanity  has  been  subserved. 
Grotius  and  other  writers  on  the  laws  of  nations  hold  "that 
a  civilized  people  may  interfere,  even  by  force  of  arms,  to 
prevent  a  continuance  of  savage  outrages." 

"  An  unjust  laAV,"  says  St.  Augustine,  "  does  not  appear 
to  be  a  law."  And  such  laws,  according  to  Balmes,*  "  are 
not  binding  in  conscience,  unless,  perhaps,  for  the  avoidance 
of  scandal  and  trouble."  From  the  writings  of  St.  Tliomas 
of  Aquin,  St.  Augustine,  as  well  as  from  Holy  "Writ  and  tra- 
dition, Balmes  deduces  the  following  general  rules : 

"  1.  "VTe  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  obey  the  civil 
power,  when  its  commands  are  opposed  to  the  divine  law. 

"  2.  When  laws  are  unjust,  tbcy  are  not  binding  in  con- 
science. 

"  3.  It  may  become  necessary  to  obey  these  laws  from 
motives  of  prudence  ;  that  is,  in  order  to  avoid  scandal  and 
commotion. 

"  4.  Laws  are  unjust  from  some  one  of  the  following- 
causes  :  When  they  are  opposed  to  the  commonweal — Avhen 
their  aim  is  not  the  good  of  the  commonweal — when  the 
legislator  outsteps  the  limits  of  his  faculties — when,  although 
in  other  respects  tending  to  the  good  of  the  commonweal, 

*  "  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  Compared,"  p.  351. 
10* 


226  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

and  proceeding  from  competent  authority,  tliey  do  not  ob- 
serve suitable  equity ;  for  instance,  when  they  divide  un- 
equally the  public  imposts."  * 

RecogniziDg  the  justice  of  these  general  principles  which 
have  been  established  among  civilized  nations  as  common 
laics^  the  popes  of  Rome  have  occasionally  exercised  the  pon- 
tifical authority  for  the  purpose  of  eradicating  paganism, 
establishing  Christianity,  and  of  leading  mankind  from  paths 
of  error  and  cruelty  into  those  of  truth  and  mercy. 

From  the  stand-point  of  the  nineteenth  century,  many 
able  writers  have  contended  that  these  exercises  of  pontifical 
power  vrere  unjustifiable  and  unchristian ;  but  a  critical 
examination  of  the  circumstances  attending  every  act  of 
papal  interference  in  civil  and  political  aflairs  during  the 
early  and  middle  ages,  will  satisfy  every  true  Christian  that 
the  cause  of  God,  of  civilization,  of  justice,  and  of  human 
progress,  has,  in  every  instance,  been  enhanced  by  them. 
In  many  respects  these  rude  eras  of  the  earlier  centuries  may 
be  compared  with  the  recent  and  even  present  condition  of 
certain  barbarous  peoples,  like  those  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
Madagascar,  ISTew  Zealand,  and  portions  of  Asia,  Africa,  and 
America.  Whenever  the  ministers  of  the  Church  have  inter- 
fered in  the  civil,  political,  and  domestic  policy  of  these 
savage  tribes,  with  a  view  of  arresting  human  sacrifices,  can- 
nibalism, bloody  civil  wars,  and  the  like,  no  Christian  has 
ever  dreamed  of  denouncing  the  acts  of  these  men  as  unjusti- 
fiable and  unchristian.  Even  when  they  have  been  instru- 
mental in  deposing  their  kings  and  chiefs,  and  have  meted 
out  the  severest  censures  of  the  Church  against  these  viola- 
tors of  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  no  one  has  ever  accused 
them  of  political  ambition,  or  of  an  unjust  and  unchristian 
usurpation  of  power. 

In  most  instances,  during  the  early  and  middle  ages  of 
the  Church,  where  the  pontifical  authority  has  been  invoked, 
or  exercised  in  civil  and  political  afiliirs,  the  causes  for  inter- 
ference have  been  as  just  and  self-evident  as  in  the  examples 

*  "  Protestantism  and  Catholicism  Compared,"  p.  351. 


PAPAL    INTEKFEKENCE    IN    SECULAR   AFFAIRS.  227 

just  cuumerated.  In  no  instance  can  it  be  proven  that  the 
pontifical  authority  has  ever  been  exercised  from  motives  of 
personal  or  political  ambition,  pecuniary  or  territorial  aggran- 
dizement, or  revenge.  In  all  cases  the  sole  objects  have 
been  the  suppression  of  idolatry  and  gross  wickedness,  crime 
and  oppression,  and  tlie  establishment  and  propagation  of 
tlie  Christian  religion.  In  illustration  of  these  assertions  we 
select  the  following  examples  from  the  writings  of  Bish- 
op Kenrick,  *  Brownson,  Raynald,  Bossuet,  Balmes,  and 
others : 

"  Wrong,  wrong  have  they  been  who  have  complained 
that  kings  and  emperors  were  subjected  to  the  spiritual  head 
of  Christendom.  It  was  well  for  man  that  there  was  a  power 
over  the  brutal  tyrants  called  emperors,  kings,  and  barons, 
who  rode  rough-shod  over  the  humble  peasant  and  artisan — 
well  that  thei-e  was  a  power,  even  on  earth,  that  could  touch 
their  cold  and  atheistical  hearts,  and  make  them  tremble  as 
tlie  veriest  slave.  ...  It  is  to  the  existence  and  exercise  of 
that  power  that  the  people  owe  their  existence,  and  the  doc- 
trine of  man's  equality  to  man  its  progress."  f 

After  the  victory  of  James,  king  of  Aragon,  over  the 
jMoors,  Pope  Clement  IV.  "  congratulated  with  him,  but  at 
the  same  time  he  admonished  him  to  subdue  his  own  passions 
by  putting  away  from  him  Berengaria,  the  object  of  unlaw- 
ful attachment For  you  cannot  please  our  crucified 

Lord,  or  avenge  His  wrongs,  if  you  will  not  abstain  from 
offending  Him.  Moreover,  we  wish  you  to  understand,  that 
unless  you  obey  our  admonitions,  we  shall  force  you,  by 
ecclesiastical  censure,  to  dismiss  her."  \ 

The  wicked,  licentious,  and  tyrannical  Ladislaus,  king  of 
Pannonia,  after  disgracing  his  kingdom  by  shameless  and 
brutal  licentiousness,  and  oppressing  his  subjects  past  en- 
durance for  a  number  of  years,  was  several  times  admonished 
by  Pope  Martin  IV. ;  and  finally,  when  all  admonitions  had 
failed  to  correct  his  guilty  abuses,  ho  was  excommunicated. 

*  "  The  Primacy,"  by  Rt.  Rev.  F.  P.  Kcnrick. 

f  "  Boston  Quarterly  Review,"  Brownson.  \  Raynald. 


228  CIIEISTIANITY   Al^D   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

In  several  instances,  where  kings  have  unjustly  put  away 
their  wives,  the  bishops  of  Rome  have  interposed  the  pon- 
tifical power  to  punish  the  ofFenclers,  and  to  vindicate  the 
sanctity  of  the  mamage  sacrament.  In  all  of  these  cases, 
the  apparent  material  prosperity  of  the  Church  has  been 
temporarily  impaired ;  but  the  principles  taught  |.by  Jesus 
have  ever  been  the  sole  guide  of  the  guardians  of  the  Church 
from  the  early  centuries,  when  nearly  every  pope  was  mar- 
tyi'ed  for  their  maintenance,  to  the  heretical  persecutions 
and  schisms  of  ambitious  monarchs  of  more  modern  times. 
One  of  the  most  notable  and  pernicious  examples  on  record 
of  a  kingly  violation  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man  is  that  of 
Henry  VIII.  of  England.  When  this  monarch  found  that  he 
could  not  flatter  or  bribe  or  threaten  Clement  VII.  into  a 
violation  of  the  laws  of  God  and  of  the  Church,  by  assenting 
to  a  divorce  from  his  excellent  queen,  Catharine  of  Aragon, 
in  order  that  he  might  marry  his  concubine,  Anne  Boleyn,  he 
deliberately  staked  his  immortal  soul  for  the  carnal  prize. 
The  issues  were  Christianity,  virtue,  and  salvation  on  the 
one  hand,  and  heresy,  lust,  and  eternal  perdition  on  the 
other. 

Before  the  apostasy  of  Henry,  nearly  all  the  people  of 
England  were  Roman  Catholics.  The  only  church,  worthy 
of  the  name,  was  the  Catholic.  Here  and  there  a  ranting 
Puritan  would  make  his  appearance,  but  they  were  insignifi- 
cant in  talent,  influence,  and  numbers.  One  of  the  colossal 
crimes,  therefore,  of  the  sixteenth  century — a  crime  against 
both  God  and  man — a  crime  which  imj^aired  the  unity  of  the 
Church,  perverted  her  doctrines,  and  substituted  in  tlieir 
place  the  subtle  inventions  of  man,  was  due  to  this  licentious 
monarch. 

For  these  flagrant  violations  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man, 
Pope  Clement,  as  the  representative  of  Christ  on  earth,  and 
the  spiritual  head  of  Christendom,  as  the  guardian  of  the 
unity  of  the  Church,  of  true  faith,  of  morals,  and  of  the  rights 
of  the  people,  opposed  to  the  sacrilegious  monarch  the  sever- 
est censures  and  penalties  of  the  Church. 


PAPAL   INTERFEEENCE   IN   SECULAK   AFFAIRS.  229 

When  Richard  Ca?ur  de  Lion  was  arrested  and  impris- 
oned, on  his  retuni  from  Palestine,  by  Leopold,  duke  of 
Austria,  in  violation  of  the  agreement  existing  between  tlic 
crusaders  and  the  Christian  kinoes  throucrh  whose  territories 
they  might  pass,  Celestine  lU.  procured  his  release  by  the 
tlircat  of  excommunication.  He  also  exercised  the  same  in- 
lluence  against  other  rulers  who  had  aided  and  abetted  the 
arrest  of  Richard  and  his  friends. 

In  the  quarrels  of  Henry  L  of  England  with  his  brother 
Robert ;  of  Andrew,  king  of  Hungary,  and  Henry  IL  ;  of 
Henry  II.  of  England  and  Louis  VI.  of  France ;  of  James, 
king  of  Aragon,  and  the  Count  of  Montfort;  of  Louis  VIH. 
of  France,  and  Henry  II.  of  England ;  of  Philip,  king  of 
France,  and  Alphonsus,  king  of  Castile ;  of  Edward,  king  of 
England,  and  Philip  the  Fair,  king  of  France;  of  Charles  tlie 
Bald,  and  his  brother  Louis ;  of  Henry  II.  and  his  son ;  of 
Louis  YI.  and  his  rebellions  nobles ;  of  Henry  IV.,  king  of 
Germany,  and  the  Saxons ;  of  Philip  I.  and  the  French  bish- 
ops and  people ;  of  Frederick  Barbarossa  and  his  subjects ; 
of  Frederick  II.  and  his  subjects,  diiferent  popes  have  exer- 
(;ised  their  authority  to  effect  just  settlements,  to  put  a  stop 
to  war  and  strife,  and  to  restore  peace  and  harmony.  These 
interpositions  have  saved  oceans  of  bloodshed,  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  human  lives,  and  diverted  the  minds  of  wdiole  na- 
tions from  passion,  hatred,  and  revenge,  to  charity,  fraternity, 
and  peace.  Upon  civilization  the  influence  of  these  inter- 
ventions has  been  in  the  hisfhest  deg^ree  satisfactorv,  at  what- 
ever  era  of  the  Church  they  have  occurred. 

Lothaire  I.  procured  a  fraudulent  divorce  from  his  wife 
Theutberge,  whom  he  falsely  accused  of  incest,  in  order  that 
he  might  marry  his  mistress  "Waldrade.  But  Nicholas  I.,  on 
investigating  the  case,  detected  the  fraud,  and  the  injury 
which  had  been  done  to  the  lawful  queen,  annulled  the  di- 
vorce and  the  unlawful  marriasre,  and  restored  Theutbern^e  to 
her  conjugal  position  and  rights. 

Ingelburga,  the  wife  of  Philip  Augustus,  who  had  been 
divorced  on  false  pretexts,  was  reinstated  in  her  rights  by 


230  CHEISTIANITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  authority  of  Innocent  III.  after  a  forced  and  cruel  sepa- 
ration of  sixteen  years. 

The  Church  has  always  regarded  marriage  as  a  divine 
sacrament;  since  the  Holy  Scriptures  declare  that  those 
whom  God  has  joined  together  in  matrimony,  shall  not  be 
disjoined  again  by  man.  The  welfare  of  society,  the  cause 
of  morality  and  virtue,  the  peace  and  harmony  of  families, 
the  proper  education  and  training  of  children,  and  every  con- 
sideration of  moral  and  social  policy  demand  that  the  mar- 
riage relation  shall  be  maintained  intact  and  inviolate  as 
established  by  the  positive  decree  of  the  Almighty.  The 
Roman  pontiffs  have  ever  recognized  the  truth  and  justice 
of  this  divine  injunction,  and  have  in  numerous  instances  ex- 
ercised their  authority  over  monarchs  and  subjects  to  enforce 
obedience  to  it. 

The  examples  adduced  by  Michaud,  in  which  excommu- 
nications were  issued  against  Philip  Augustus,  Louis  VII., 
Philip  I.,  and  others,  "  Avere  all  in  great  measure  grounded 
on  the  violation  of  the  laws  of  marriage." 

For  the  most  part  the  secular  influence  of  the  bishops  of 
Rome  has  been  exercised  through  moral  suasion,  and  always 
in  behalf  of  religion,  virtue,  mercy,  and  human  happiness. 

"  Catholic  sovereigns,"  says  Bishop  Kenrick,  "  as  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  are  bound  by  her  laws,  and  subject  to 

the  penalties  which  are  attached  to  their  trangression 

The  pope,  as  head  on  earth  of  the  Church,  exercises  by  divine 
right  authority  over  Catholic  princes  in  the  things  that  are 
of  salvation.  When  by  flagrant  crimes  they  cause  the  name 
of  God  to  be  blasphemed,  he  may  admonish  and  reprove  them, 
as  Nathan  reproved  David  by  the  divine  command  ;  and,  in 
case  of  contumacy,  he  may  inflict  on  them  ecclesiastical  cen- 
sures." * 

We  may  go  even  further  and  assert  that,  by  the  '''  com- 
mon law "  of  all  civilized  nations,  by  the  universally  con- 
ceded piinciples  of  right  and  justice,  and  by  the  general  and 
received  customs  and  practices  of  the  early  and  middle  ages, 
*  "  The  Primacy,"  p.  327. 


PAPAL   INTERFERENCE   IN   SECULAK  AFFAIRS.  231 

the  heads  of  the  Church  were  right  in  interposing  the  pontifi- 
cal authority  for  tlie  purpose  of  arresting  blasphemy,  idolatry, 
hiunau  sacrifices,  and  heinous  crimes  against  divine  and  hu- 
man laws.  It  matters  not  whether  this  authority  has  been 
exercised  against  civilized  emperors  or  kings  in  the  midst  of 
cruel  and  unjustifiable  wars  against  their  weak  and  unofiend- 
ing  neighbors,  and  other  great  crimes  against  religion  and 
humanity,  or  against  the  chiefs  and  kings  of  savage  tribes  of 
cannibals,  and  wanton  man-slayers  and  slave-dealers — all  will 
concede  that  circumstances  have  fully  justified  every  such 
act  of  secular  interposition.  When  Christ  overturned  the 
tables  of  the  Jewish  money-changers  who  were  profaning  the 
temple  of  God  by  secular  occupations,  and  cast  them  out  of 
the  synagogue,  He  took  the  law  into  His  own  hands,  and 
summarily  corrected  and.  punished  the  blasphemy.  On  the 
same  princij^le,  His  subsequent  representatives  have  some- 
times adopted  a  similar  policy  when  the  laws  and  the 
churches  of  God  have  been  violated  and  profaned  by  wicked 
rulers. 


CHAPTEE   XX. 

CONDITION   OF   THE  WOELD  AT   THE  COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE 

KEFORMATION. 

DuEiNG  the  entire  Christian  era  antagonistic  forces  have 
continually  been  at  work.  In  most  instances  these  opposing 
elements  have  been  the  Christian  system  on  the  one  hand, 
and  material  and  human  systems  on  the  other.  All  have  left 
their  imprint,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  upon  nations  and 
epochs.  But  one  of  them  has  survived  the  mutations  and  the 
practical  tests  of  all  the  ages.  This  experirnentum  cruets  in- 
dicates an  inherent  truthfulness  and  vitality  in  the  Christian 
system,  which  pertains  to  no  other. 

At  all  periods  there  have  been  false  criteria  of  true  civil- 
ization. Pliny,  Seneca,  Martial,  Tacitus,  and  Josephus,  from 
their  points  of  view,  instituted  comparisons  between  the  old 
Poman  and  the  early  Christian  communities,  and  insisted 
that  the  superior  civilization,  culture,  and  material  prosperity 
of  the  former  was  a  conclusive  proof  of  the  superiority  of  the 
pagan  and  Jewish  religions  over  the  Christian.  In  the  same 
manner,  Macaulay,  Guizot,  D'Aubigne,  Lecky,  and  others, 
from  their  modern  stand-points,  have  instituted  comparisons 
between  Protestantism  and  Catholicism,  by  adducing  wealth 
and  worldly  prosperity  as  the  proper  tests  of  Christian  civil- 
ization. As  we  advance,  it  will  aj)pear  that  similar  ideas 
and  similar  antagonistic  forces  were  at  the  foundation  of  the 
religious  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century,  to  those  which 
existed  in  the  days  of  Christ  and  the  apostles ;  and  that  the 


CONDITION   OF   THE   WOKLD,    ETC.  233 

subsequent  development  of  the  principles  of  the  Reforma- 
tion Las  reestablished  a  condition  but  little  in  advance  of 
that  which  existed  at  the  birth  of  the  Saviour. 

After  the  successive  irruptions  of  the  Goths,  Yandals, 
and  Huns,  under  Alaric,  Genseric,  and  Attila,  and  when  all 
Europe  had  been  seized  and  divided  among  the  barbarian 
chiefs,  nearly  every  remnant  of  the  old  Roman  civilization 
was  extinQ-uished  in  a  Ions:  and  dark  nioht  of  barbarism. 
The  only  lights  which  glimmered  upon  the  great  pathway 
of  humanity  toward  eternity,  issued  from  the  churches, 
monasteries,  and  colleges  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Tlirce 
antagonistic  systems  now  struggled  for  the  mastery — the 
Christian,  the  remnants  of  the  old  Roman,  and  the  Barbarian. 
Each  one  had  its  peculiar  elements  of  strength — the  Christian 
its  divine  origin,  its  divine  protection,  and  its  inherent  truth- 
fulness ;  the  Roman,  its  memories  of  national  glory,  grandeur, 
and  high  material  culture;  and  the  Barbaric,  its  military 
prestige,  and  the  influence  of  actual  possession.  Each  sys- 
tem, therefore,  presented  some  points  of  attraction  to  the 
rude  men  of  the  period ;  each  one  could  appeal  to  some  senti- 
ment of  the  human  heart  with  a  prospect  of  success.  The 
Christian  civilization  addressed  itself  to  man's  better  nature, 
to  his  spiritual  aspirations,  to  his  humanitarian  sentiments, 
to  emotions  of  love,  benevolence,  charity.  The  Roman  civil- 
ization recalled  the  popular  philosophies  of  many  genera- 
tions, the  power  and  glory  of  the  empire,  the  luxuries  and 
enjoyments  of  a  rich  and  sensual  people,  and  roused  the  pride 
of  nationality.  The  Barbarian  could  point  to  his  numerous 
conquests,  to  his  bravery  and  prowess,  and  derive  inspiration 
from  the  wild  and  romantic  legends  of  his  native  fastnesses, 
from  the  rude  excitements  of  an  unrestrained  soldiery,  and 
from  pillage  and  rapine.  On  through  the  dark  ages,  witli 
ever-varying  results,  from  generation  to  generation,  sped 
these  conflicting  agencies  of  human  thought  and  action — 
Christian,  Roman,  Barbarian.  Slowly,  as  time  wore  on,  and 
the  passions  of  war  and  conquest  subsided,  the  beneficent 
truths  of  Christianity  began  to  make  an  impression  upon  the 


234  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

hearts  of  the  Barharian  conquerors ;  and  as  these  changes  of 
sentiment  occurred,  a  corresponding  improvement  in  morals 
and  manners  was  visible.  In  this  contest  of  antagonistic 
principles,  material  wealth  and  power  were  on  the  side  of  the 
rulers,  while  the  only  real  and  true  element  of  civilization 
was  with  tlie  subjugated  Christians. 

As  Goth,  Vandal,  Hun,  Frank,  Suabian,  and  Lombard, 
gradually  absorbed  the  truths  of  Christianity,  the  dark  clouds 
of  heathenism  very  slowly  but  steadily  became  dispersed, 
and  the  clear  light  of  Catholic  truth  illuminated  their  souls. 
The  invaders  had  gained  a  permanent  victory  over  the  per- 
sons and  the  possessions  of  the  subjects  of  the  empire;  but  in 
turn,  the  victors  themselves  were  subjugated  with  spiritual 
weaj^ons  by  their  Christian  vassals.  In  this  gigantic  contest 
of  the  Christian  Church  with  barbarism  on  the  one  hand,  and 
cultivated  joaganism,  Judaism,  and  materialism  on  the  other, 
the  results,  under  the  circumstances,  were  most  extraordinary. 
In  the  midst  of  a  world  of  materialists,  opposed  by  the  preju- 
dices, education,  habits,  passions,  and  propensities  of  the 
rude  men  of  the  period,  it  is  remarkable  that  Christianity 
survived,  and  still  more  remarkable  that  she  brought  per- 
manently within  her  fold  entire  heathen  nations,  who  after- 
ward became  the  dominant  races  of  Christian  Europe.  Let 
those  who  are  inclined  to  speak  disparagingly  of  the  mediaeval 
Christians,  remember  these  great  facts,  and  learn  to  appre- 
ciate the  difficulties  and  the  trials  of  these  pioneer  bishops, 
abbots,  priests,  and  monks.  And  if,  among  the  myriads  of 
these  new  converts  from  barbarism,  he  occasionally  finds  a 
bad  Catholic,  even  in  a  clerical  garb,  let  him  not  denounce 
Christ's  truth,  or  Christ's  Church,  and  clamor  for  a  reforma- 
tion, a  new  religion,  and  a  new  Church  outside  of  the  one 
v/hich  was  founded  by  the  Son  of  man  on  St.  Peter. 

When  contrasting  the  rapid  progress  of  Christianity  and 
the  rapid  advancement  in  civilization  since  the  discovery  of 
printing  in  1452,  and  the  revival  of  literature  and  commerce 
in  the  sixteenth  centiuy,  with  their  more  slow  and  unequal 
progress  in  the  middle  ages,  let  all  the  facts  and  circum- 


CONDITION   OF   THE   WOELD,    ETC.  235 

stances  of  each  period  be  taken  into  account.  In  the  first 
instance  we  behold  a  continent  of  educated  and  enlio-litcned 
Christicms  in  possession  of  innumerable  printed  hooJcs^  and 
every  possible  facility  for  acquiring  instruction  and  knowl- 
edge; the  discovery  and  opening  up  to  the  commerce  of 
Europe  new  and  vast  continents,  with  the  attendant  im- 
pulses to  navigation,  trade,  and  international  communication. 
In  the  latter  example  we  behold  many  nations  composed  of 
cultivated  pagans,  depraved  Jews,  rude  barbarians,  and  a 
minority  of  Christians;  no  printed  books ;  all  learning  and 
knowledge  confined  to  the  clergy ;  and  continual  elements  of 
antagonism  brought  to  bear  against  the  Church.  Under 
such  circumstances  it  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  C'hris- 
tianity  could  have  made  more  rapid  progress  than  she  did 
make.  It  is  not  just  to  contrast  the  civilization  of  these 
epochs  with  that  of  the  last  three  centuries,  to  the  discredit 
of  the  Roman  Church,  or  Jier  bishops  and  priests.  During 
these  barbaric  periods  the  Christian  Church  was  tlie  only 
element  of  civilization,  the  only  influence  which  could  rescue 
mankind  from  false  philosophies,  false  religions,  false  political, 
moral,  and  social  systems,  and  permanent  human  degradation  *, 
and  as  she  strusfoiled  on  amidst  a  thousand  conflictino-  and 
potent  obstacles,  she  brought  with  her  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
the  sacred  traditions,  her  ecclesiastical  organization,  and  all 
her  ordinances  and  observances  as  they  had  been  received 
from  Christ  and  the  apostles.  She  also  brought  with  her  a 
steadily  accumulating  host  of  Christian  converts,  until,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  sixteenth  century,  many  years  before 
the  innovations  of  Luther,  scarcely  an  individual  in  Europe 
remained  unconverted. 

Even  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  century,  nearly  one  hundred 
years  before  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation,  almost 
all  of  the  obstacles  to  the  progress  of  Christianity  and  civili- 
zation had  been  removed,  and  new  and  most  potent  agencies 
of  advancement  had  been  presented  to  tlie  world.  Pagan 
and  barbarian  Europe  had  become  Christian ;  the  invention  of 
printing  had  placed  a  new  element  of  civilization  in  the  hands 


236  CnEISTlANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

of  men,  and  had  created  a  new  era  in  human  progress.     All 
knowledge  could  now  be  concisely  presented  to  the  public  eye, 
and  thoughts,  iDrincij^les,  discoveries,  and  actions  could  be 
examined,  and  then  adopted  or  rejected  as  individual  judg- 
ments might  dictate.     This  wonderful  art  of  the  ingenious 
Guttenberg,  ojoened  a  wide  door  for  both  good  and  evil.     It 
could  sow  good  seed,  which  might  yield  harvests,  rich  in 
divine  truths,  in  morals,  and  in  useful  knowledge  of  all  kinds  ; 
or  it  could  plaut  tares,  which  might  choke  and  retard  the 
progress  of  religion,  truth,  virtue^  and  human  happiness.    As  a 
consequence  of  this  invention,  there  was  a  general  revival  of 
literature,  commerce,  art,  science,  and  agriculture,  and  all 
advanced  with  a  rapidity  quite  unparalleled  in  the  previous 
history  of  the  world.     A  new  impulse  was  communicated  to 
the  human  mind,  the  ideas  and  acts  of  men  became  more  sys- 
tematized, and  more  blended  for  mutual  assistance  and  con- 
cert of  action,  and  a  new  and  greater  j^ower  for  good  and  for 
evil  existed  in  the  world.     This  gigantic  power — this  vast 
element  of  civilization — was  conceived,  perfected,  and  pre- 
sented to  mankind  by  a  Roman  Catholic.     By  the  enterprise 
of  Roman  Catholic  monarchs  and  navigators,  the  new  conti- 
nent of  America  and  the  Indies  were  discovered,  and  brought 
under  the  sway  of  civilized  Euroi:)e.     These  great  discoveries 
inaugurated  the  most  important  commercial  era  which  the 
world  had  ever  witnessed.     The  thirst  for  new  discoveries, 
conquests,  adventures,  and  ncAV  channels  of  trade  and  wealth 
now  became  ^furore  with  kings,  nobles,  and  subjects.     Spain, 
Portugal,  Holland,  France,  England,   and  other   countries 
vied  with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  fit  out  new  expeditions 
to  explore  other  unknown  regions,  and  to  open  up  and  de- 
velop all  possible  sources  of  commerce  and  riches.     Be  it  ever 
remembered  that  these  vast  discoveries,  and  these  new  ele- 
ments of  civilization  and  material  and  national  prosj^erity, 
Averc  all  made  by  Catholics  j  and   be  it  remembered   that 
wherever  a  Catholic  fleet  penetrated,  the  priests  and  mission- 
aries of  the  Church  were  always  present  to  teach  and  j^reach 
the  Word  of  God  to  the  heathen,  and  to  win  them  by  love 


CONDITTON    OF   THE   WOliLD,    ETC.  237 

and  charity  witliin  the  Christian  fold.  As  avc  proceed,  we 
shall  enter  into  details  upon  this  subject,  and  endeavor  to 
j^rove  that  Christianity  and  civilization  made  quite  as  rapid 
progress  from  the  discovery  of  printing  to  the  commencement 
of  the  so-called  licformation,  as  they  have  done  at  any  corre- 
sponding period  since.  We  shall  also  show  that  the  civiliza- 
tion of  Catholicism  has  always  been  more  in  accordance  with 
the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ,  more  humane,  more  exalted, 
and  better  calculated  to  enhance  the  welfare  of  the  human 
race  than  that  of  Protestantism. 

Nearly  ev^ry  eminent  Protestant  writer  has  gracefully 
acknowledged  the  fact  that  the  preservation  of  Christianity 
up  to  the  sixteenth  century  was  due  solely  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  In  illustration,  we  cite  a  few  extracts  from 
two  of  the  best  writers  of  England  and  France — Macaulay  and 
Guizot. 

Referrins:  to  the  influence  of  the  Roman  Church  durino- 
the  middle  ages,  Macaulay  remarks  :  "  The  ascendency  of 
the  sacerdotal  order  was  long  the  ascendency  which  naturally 
and  properly  belongs  to  intellectual  sujDcriority.  The  priests, 
with  all  their  faults,  were  by  far  the  wisest  portion  of  socie- 
ty. It  Avas,  therefore,  on  the  whole,  good  that  they  should 
be  respected  and  obeyed.  The  encroachments  of  the  ecclesi- 
astical power  on  the  province  of  the  civil  power  produced 
much  more  liaj^piness  than  misery,  while  the  ecclesiastical 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  the  only  class  that  had  studied 
history,  philosophy,  and  public  law,  and  while  the  civil 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  savage  chiefs  who  could  not  read 
their  own  grants  and  edicts."  * 

"The  Church  has  constantly  maintained  the  principle  tli  at 
all  men,  whatever  their  origin,  are  equally  privileged  to  enter 
her  ranks,  to  fill  her  highest  ofiices,  to  enjoy  her  proudest 
dignities.  The  ecclesiastical  career,  particularly  from  the 
fifth  to  the  twelftli  century,  was. open  to  all.  The  Church 
was  recruited  from  all  ranks  of  society,  from  the  lower  as 
Avell  as  the  higher,  indeed  most  frequently  from  the  lower. 
*  "History  of  Eiiglaiul,"  toI.  i.,  p.  134. 


238  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

When  all  around  her  fell  under  the  tyranny  of  privilege,  she 
alone  maintained  the  principles  of  equality,  of  competition, 

and  emulation The  Church  has  exercised  a  vast  and 

important  influence  apon  the  moral  and  intellectual  order  of 
Europe ;    upon   the    notions,   sentiments,    and    manners  of 

society So  powerful,  indeed,  has  been  the  authority 

of  the  Church  in  matters  of  intellect,  that  even  the  mathe- 
matical and  physical  sciences  have  been  obliged  to  submit  to 

its  doctrines We  shall  find  the  same  fact  held,  if  we 

travel  through  the  regions  of  literature  ;  the  habits,  the  sen- 
timents, the  language  of  theology,  there  shovv^  themselves  at 
every  step.  This  influence,  taken  all  together,  has  been  salu- 
tary." '^  ....  "It  was  at  the  very  time  that  the  Roman  em- 
pire fell  to  pieces  and  disappeared,  that  the  Christian  Church 
rallied,  and  definitely  formed  herself.  Political  unity  per- 
ished,  religious   duty   arose This   is    a   glorious  and 

powerful  fact,  and  one  Avhich,  from  the  fifth  to  the  thirteenth 
century,  has  rendered  immense  services  to  humanity.  The 
mere  fact  of  the  unity  of  tlie  Church,  maintained  some  tic 
between  countries  and  nations  that  every  thing  else  tended  to 
separate ;  under  its  influence  some  general  notions,  some  sen- 
timents of  a  vast  sympathy  continued  to  be  developed ;  and 
from  the  very  heart  of  the  most  frightful  political  confusion 
that  the  world  has  ever  known,  arose  perhaps  the  most 
extensive  and  the  purest  idea  that  has  ever  rallied  mankind, 
the  idea  of  spiritual  society ;  for  that  is  the  philosophical 
name  of  the  Church,  the  type  which  she  wished  to  realize."  f 
In  order  to  judge  fairly  of  the  influence  of  the  Reforma- 
tion upon  the  civilization  of  Europe,  it  is  necessary  to  keep 
constantly  in  mind  the  great  events  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
XJTecedlng  tlie  Reformation.  Previous  to  the  discovery  of 
printing,  knowledge,  for  the  most  part,  had  been  commmii- 
cated  only  from  individual  to  individuak  Written  manu- 
scripts were  rare  and  expensive,  and  consequently  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  the  learned  and  rich.  It  is  true  that 
the   divine  principles  of  Christianity  were   all   within   the 

*  "  History  of  CiviliziitioTi,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  105,  113,  ISY.     f  li^itl,  vol.  ii.,  p.  2S9. 


CONDITION    OF   THE   WORLD,    ETC.  239 

Clmrch,  and  that  tliey  were  uttered  from  the  mouths  of  tl}e 
clergy  in  all  parts  of  the  world;  but  this  mode  of  addressing 
mankind  was  slow  and  imperfect.  The  art  of  printing  aroused 
the  worhl,  from  a  condition  of  intellectual  torpor  and  igno- 
rance, to  one  of  great  mental  activity  and  intellectual  de- 
velopment. All  ideas,  all  discoveries,  all  knowledge  could 
be  placed  upon  printed  tablets,  and  presented  daily  and 
hourly  to  the  whole  civilized  Avorld.  The  tlioughts  of  the 
wise,  the  good,  and  the  great  could  be  seen  continually  on 
printed  sheets.  The  minds  of  men  could  be  brought  into 
immediate  and  direct  contact,  opinions  and  suggestions  could 
be  exchanged,  new  discoveries  communicated,  and  knowledge 
be  imbibed  with  marvellous  rapidity  through  the  new  in- 
vention. 

Students  of  history  will  not  fail  to  observe  tliat  the  bish- 
ops of  Rome  have  ever  been  most  active  in  developing  the 
resources  of  this  marvellous  discovery,  as  well  as  earnest 
patrons,  of  learning,  and  active  disseminators  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  ISTotwithstanding 
the  wars  which  distracted  Italy  in  the  early  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  popes  and  the  Church  were  continually 
engaged  in  disseminating  knowledge  of  all  kinds  through 
the  press.  It  will  greatly  astonish  those  who  have  been 
made  to  believe  the  fiction  that  the  Roman  bishops  have 
ahvays  endeavored  to  suppress  and  to  exclude  the  Bible  from 
the  public  gaze,  to  be  made  acquainted  with  the  actual  facts 
upon  this  subject.  Tlipse  credulous  followers  of  individual 
sectaries  will  be  indignant,  as  well  as  amazed,  when  they 
learn  that  the  only  Bible-publishers,  Bible-preservers,  Bible- 
missionaries,  and  Bible-distributors  of  the  world,  up  to  the 
period  of  the  Reformation,  were  the  popes  of  Rome  and  the 
Catholic  clergy !  Even  after  the  Bible  had  been  corrupted 
by  the  German  innovators,  and  all  kinds  of  false  doctrines 
were  beinsj  disseminated  amono-  the  io-norant  and  credulous, 
the  Church  still  continued  to  circulate  the  Holy  Scriptures 
in  all  parts  of  the  earth  as  they  were  delivered  to  the  apos- 
tles and  to  the  Church  by  Jesus  Christ.     It  is  quite  true  that 


240  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tlie  false  translations  of  the  Bible  by  Luther  and  other  parti- 
san sectaries,  arrested  the  attention  of  the  bishops  of  Rome, 
and  required  them  to  shield  the  unlettered  and  unwary  from 
the  cunning  devices  of  these  ambitious  religionists,  by  pre- 
senting to  the  world  legitimate  Bibles,  and  authorized  inter- 
pretations of  them.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  art  of  printing  had 
placed  in  the  hands  of  bad  men  a  potent  instrument  of  evil, 
tlirough  which  they  might  readily  pervert  the  religious  faith 
of  thousands,  and  blow  them  about  by  every  wind  of  false 
doctrine ;  but  it  is  no  less  true  that  the  popes  were  equally 
active  in  using  this  powerful  agency  for  good.  It  was  due 
to  these  "  ambassadors  "  of  God  that  the  Bible  was  preserved 
and  transmitted  to  the  Reformers  themselves ;  and  it  is  equally 
due  to  them  that  the  same  Bible  was  still  held  in  the  Church, 
immutable  and  uncorruptecl,  notwithstanding  the  fierce  on- 
slaughts of  the  promoters  of  the  Reformation.  Says  Bishop 
Kenrick  :  "  The  books  printed  in  Italy  during  these  ten  years 
(from  1470  to  1480)  amount,  according  to  Panzer,  to  twelve 
hundred  and  ninety-seven,  of  which  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  are  editions  of  ancient  classical  authors.  Books  without 
date  are  of  course  not  included,  and  the  list  must  not  be  re- 
garded complete  as  to  others A  translation  of  the  Bible 

by  Malerbi,  a  Venetian,  was  published  in  1471,  and  two 
other  editions  of  that,  or  a  different  version,  the  same*  year. 
Eleven  editions  are  enumerated  by  Panzer  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  ....  The  books  printed  at  Rome  down  to  1500  are 
nine  hundred  and  thirty-five — a  far  greater  number  than 
issued  from  any  other  city  but  Venice,  which  counted  two 

thousand   eight  hundred  and  thirty-five Much   more 

than  ten  thousand  editions  of  books  or  pamphlets  (a  late 
writer  says  fifteen  thousand)  were  printed  from  1470  to  1500. 
More  than  half  the  number  appeared  in  Italy.  The  editions 
of  the  Vulgate  registered  in  Panzer  are  ninety-one."  *  In 
1513  the  Psalms  and  a  grammar  were  published  at  Rome  by 
Potka  in  the  Ethiopic  language.     In  1540  the  New  Testa- 

*  Kcnrick's  "  Primacy,"  p.  482,  and  Ilallam's  "  Literature  of  Europe, 
vol.  i.,  c.  14,  n.  33,  53,  44,  141. 


CONDITION   OF   THE    WOELD,    ETC.  24:1 

ment  was  published  at  Rome  in  tlie  same  language.  During 
the  pontificates  of  Sixtus  Y.  and  Clement  VIII. ,  beautiful 
editions  of  the  Vulgate  and  of  the  Septuagint  were  published 
at  Rome,  in  the  Greek,  Hebrew,  Latin,  and  Arabic  lan- 
guages. John  Baptist  Raimondi  published  the  entire  Bil)le 
in  ten  diflercnt  languages,  under  the  direction  and  patronage 
of  the  pope,  in  the  sixteenth  century,  before  the  Reformation. 
Twenty  printed  editions  of  the  Bible  were  brought  out  in 
the  German  language  alone  before  Luther's  appearance ;  and 
among  the  eminent  Catholic  commentators  on  the  Bible  at 
this  period  were  Tostatus,  Nicholas  of  Lyra,  John  Taulcr, 
and  Thomas  a  Kem2)is.  More  tlian  fifty  completely  endowed 
universities  were  established  in  all  parts  of  Europe,  under 
the  direction  and  patronage  of  the  Roman  pontifis,  during 
the  century  preceding  the  Reformation.  *  But  few  men 
have  been  more  active  as  Bible-publishers  and  Bible-distrib- 
utors than  Popes  Pius  IV.,  Gregory  XIII.,  Sixtus  V.,  Julius 
II.,  and  Clement  VIII.  ISTor  were  the  eftbrts  of  these  chief 
representatives  of  the  Church  confined  to  the  publication 
and  dissemination  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  books  per- 
taining to  religious  subjects,  but  a  fair  proportion  of  the  ele- 
gant and  classical  literature  of  the  past,  as  well  as  of  the 
present,  was  rapidly  transferred  from  written  manuscripts  to 
printed  sheets,  and  presented  to  the  world  in  the  form  of 
books  or  pamphlets. 

The  period  vdiich  elapsed  from  tlie  discovery  of  printing 
to  the  appearance  of  Luther  as  a  reformer  Avas  about  sixty 
years.  During  this  interval,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Bible  was 
translated  into  many  languages,  and  great  numbers  were 
published  and  circulated  among  the  nations  of  the  eartli 
under  the  patronage  and  direction  of  the  Catliolic  Clmrch. 
The  art  of  printing,  like  any  other  newly-discovered  art,  re- 
quired time  for  development.  Its  utility  could  not  be  prac- 
tically manifested  in  a  day,  or  even  in  a  single  generation. 
Much  practice,  much  experience,  and  much  labor  were  neces- 
sary to  change  all  of  the  previous  modes  of  expression,  and 

*  AIzog;,  *'  nistoire  de  I'Eglise,"  p.  231. 
11 


242  CnEISTlANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

to  substitute  universally  a  novel  and  untried  system  of  com- 
municating and  of  receiving  ideas.  Whatever  may  be  as- 
serted of  the  uses  to  which  this  noble  art  has  been  subjected 
up  to  the  present  time,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  a  Catholic 
invented  it,  that  Catholics  developed  and  perfected  it,  and 
that  Catholics  presented  it  to  the  Reformers  as  a  new,  potent, 
and  ready  instrument,  for  good  or  for  evil,  as  the  minds  of 
men  might  determine.  We  have  briefly  alluded  to  a  few  of 
the  immediate  Catholic  fruits  of  this  discovery  in  the  form 
of  numerous  copies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  many  languages, 
and  of  large  numbers  of  books  on  philosophy,  poetry,  art, 
science,  and  classical  literature. 

But  still  another  grand  result,  which  may  be  fairly  traced 
to  this  rapid  interchange  of  ideas  to  which  we  have  before 
alluded,  was  the  Catholic  discovery  of  America  and  the 
Indies.  The  impulse  which  had  been  communicated  to  the 
human  mind  by  the  new  invention  awakened  all  the  inven- 
tive faculties  of  men,  and  kindled  in  their  hearts  new  as- 
pirations, a  spirit  of  enterprise  and  emulation,  and  a  burn- 
ing desire  to  spread  the  truths  of  Christianity  and  the  bless- 
ings of  civilization  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world. 
Actuated  by  such  motives.  Catholics  soon  discovered  and 
colonized  new  and  vast  continents,  and  opened  up  a  new  era 
of  commerce  and  navigation  in  all  quarters  of  the  earth. 
And,  w^hile  carrying  in  one  hand  commerce,  agriculture,  and 
the  arts  of  civilization,  they  always  conveyed  the  divine 
truths  and  blessings  of  Christianity  in  the  other.  No  one 
can  estimate  the  vast  importance  of  these  great  events  of 
Catholic  enterprise  previous  to  the  Reformation  upon  the 
future  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  human  race !  No  one 
can  contemplate  these  important  eras* in  human  affairs  with- 
out recognizing  the  everlasting  obligations  due  to  the  Roman 
Catholics  who  lived  during  the  last  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century. 

It  required  many  generations  after  the  invention  of  steam 
as  a  motive  power,  before  its  vast  resources  could  be  fully 
developed  and  utilized.     It  is  of  comparatively  recent  date 


CONDITION   OF   THE   WOULD,    ETC.  213 

that  the  learned  Dr.  Lardner,  in  a  public  lecture  in  New 
York,  pronounced  ocean  steam-navigation  impracticable  ;  Init 
time  has  since  developed  the  powers  of  the  great  discovery, 
until  innumerable  steamships  traverse  every  sea.  During 
the  first  years  of  its  employment  a  few  small  boats  were 
placed  on  a  few  placid  rivers,  but  rather  as  scientific  curiosi- 
ties than  as  useful  crafts  of  commerce.  As  time  wore  on, 
constant  practice  and  experience  gradually  brought  forth  the 
dormant  capacities  of  the  novel  motive  power.  Ere  long  its 
potent  breath  gave  life  to  the  locomotive,  as  it  had  already 
done  to  the  steam-engine,  and  henceforth  it  was  destined  to 
be  a  new  and  world-wide  jiower  both  on  land  and  water. 

The  facts  of  history  will  demonstrate  that  the  discovery 
of  the  steam-engine  was  followed  by  a  much  more  tardy 
development,  and  by  fewer  useful  results  in  proportion  to  its 
importance,  during  the  first  half  century,  than  were  exhibited 
after  the  invention  of  printing. 

Ample  facts  warrant  the  assertion  that  all  new  and  im- 
portant inventions  must  pass  through  the  processes  of  con- 
ception, germination,  and  growth,  before  arriving  at  full 
maturity.  In  judging,  therefore,  of  the  progress  of  litera- 
ture, science,  and  general  advancement  after  the  Reformation, 
let  it  be  ever  remembered  that  the  art  of  printing  had 
reached  its  full  development  and  maturity  when  Luther  and 
his  fellow-innovators  appeared  on  the  stage  of  life,  and  that 
the  natural  and  legitimate  fruits  of  the  noble  invention  were 
everywhere  rapidly  manifesting  themselves.  It  is  manifestly 
unjust  to  attribute  the  rapid  advancement  in  knowledge  and 
in  the  arts  of  civilization  which  occurred  during  the  sixteenth 
century  to  the  efforts  of  the  Reformers  and  their  partisans, 
instead  of  ascribing  it  to  the  marvellous  agency  whicli 
brought  the  minds  of  men  into  daily  and  hourly  raiiport. 

Taking  as  a  standard  of  com23arison  the  imi^ortant  dis- 
coveries which  have  been  made  since  the  Reformation,  like 
the  steam-engine,  the  electric  telegrapli,  vaccination,  etc.,  we 
infer  that  no  class  of  men,  even  those  of  the  present  day, 
could  have  taken  up  the  art  of  printing  in  1452,  and  pracli- 


244  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

cally  developed  and  utilized  its  powers  with  greater  rapidity 
and  judgment,  than  did  tlie  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  her 
children  up  to  the  period  of  the  Keformation.  Nor,  judging 
from  the  history  of  the  past  three  hundred  years,  could  the 
same  number  of  Puritans  have  made  more  rapid  strides  in 
the  discovery  of  new  continents,  in  navigation,  in  the  arts, 
and  in  the  propagation  of  the  Christian  religion,  than  did 
the  Catholics  for  sixty  years  preceding  the  Reformation. 

So  far  as  human  enterprise,  energy,  and  natural  benevo- 
lence are  concerned,  all  men,  whether  Catholics  or  Protest- 
ants, are  very  much  alike.  Climate  and  temperament  exer- 
cise certain  influences  upon  these  natural  traits,  a,nd  thus,  to 
some  extent,  modify  local  and  even  national  results.  So  also 
the  religious  training  of  a  people  may  direct  their  thoughts 
and  their  actions  more  to  their  spiritual  well-being  than  to 
their  v>^orldly  prosperity,  and  thus  leave  them  behind  in 
mere  material  advancement  and  material  civilization  ;  but  it 
becometh  not  man  to  decide  as  to  which  of  these  two  classes 
Christ  will  look  upon  with  most  favor  at  the  great  day  of 
reckoning. 

No  one  can  examine  critically  the  new  elements  of  civili- 
zation and  progress  which  were  presented  to  the  world  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  and  the  actual  advancement  which  was 
everywhere  manifest,  without  admitting  that  Lutlier's  pre- 
texts for  a  revolt  from  the  Church  were  unfounded.  The  in- 
dividual corruptions  against  which  Luther  took  exceptions, 
were  such  as  must  of  necessity  occur  in  all '  human  organiza- 
tions and  communities  so  long  as  man  retains  his  sinful 
nature.  These  corruptions  should  have  been  attacked  with- 
in the  Church,  so  that  its  unity  might  have  been  preserved, 
and  mankind  been  spared  the  contentions,  the  wars,  and  the 
desolation  v/hich  followed  the  religious  revolt  which  rended 
Christendom  into  innumerable  hostile  and  conflicting  sects. 
No  more  ardent  and  thorough  reformers  have  lived  than 
were  the  pontifls  and  many  of  the  bishops  of  Luther's  day. 
Even  when  Luther  was  a  quiet  monk  in  the  Augustine  con- 
vent of  Erfnrth,  I*ope  Julius  IT.,  and   afterward   Leo  X., 


CONDITION    OF   THE   WOKLD,    ETC.  245 

wore  usiug  tlicir  utmost  efforts  to  reform  individual  abuses 
within  the  Church.  At  the  fifth  Lateran  Council,  a.  d.  1512, 
in  his  bull  of  indiction,  Julius  says :  "  Nothing  for  the  last 
eleven  years,  in  which  we  discharged  the  office  of  cardinal, 
would  have  been  more  to  our  heart  than  to  see  celebrated  a 
general  council,  and  the  Church  of  Rome  reformed  for  the 
better,''''  In  opening  the  same  council  at  its  eighth  session, 
Leo  observed  respecting  the  bull  of  reformation  which  he 
Was  about  to  issue  as  follows :  "  We,  successor  of  his  (Julius 
II.)  cares  as  well  as  his  office,  have  never,  from  the  first  hour 
of  our  joontificate,  ceased  to  make  it  our  business,  both  to 
continue  the  council,  and  to  promote  peace  amongst  Chris- 
tian princes;  still  more,  since  it  is  in  our  mind  to  effect  a 
universal  reformation^  to  support  by  new  measures,  and 
carry  out  by  means  of  increased  deputations,  all  that  had 
been  provided  by  our  predecessor  from  the  first  respecting 
offices.  For  there  is  no  care  that  we  have  more  at  heart 
than  to  pluck  up  all  thorns  and  briers  from  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard, and  take  up  by  the  roots  and  extirpate  whatever  mili- 
tates against  its  perfect  culture."  When  Adrian  VI.  suc- 
ceeded to  the  pontificate,  he  wrote  as  foUows  :  "  We  there- 
fore bend  our  neck  to  this  high  post,  not  for  the  lust  of  rul- 
ing, not  for  the  pui'pose  of  enriching  our  nearest  of  kin,  but, 
in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,/br  the  purpose  of  reforming 
His  spouse,  the  Catholic  Church,  that  has  been  defiled  ;  of  as- 
sisting the  oppressed  ;  of  raising  and  honoring  those  learned 
and  virtuous  men  who  have  for  so  long  been  neglected  and 
ignored ;  of  carrying  out  all  other  tilings  which  it  becomes 
a  good  pontiff  and  lawful  successor  of  blessed  Peter  to  do." 
Nor  were  many  of  the  most  eminent  Catholic  bishops  of 
Luther's  day  less  active  than  the  popes  in  their  efforts  at 
reformation,  as  the  label's  of  Simon  Begnius,  bishop  of  Mod- 
rusch,  Antonius  Piiccius,  Stephen,  bishop  of  Torcello,  Cardi- 
nal Contarini,  Sadolet,  bishop  of  Carpentras,  Carafia,  and 
othero  testify.  We  might  cite  volumes  of  facts  to  the  same 
purport,  but  our  limits  will  only  allow  us  to  present  a  few 
examples  as  types  of  the  general  senliment  of  the  Catholic 


246  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Church  on  the  subject  of  individual  corruptions  preceding  the 
Reformation.  Referring  to  Luther's  pretext  for  revolting  from 
the  Church  and  endeavoring  to  rend  Christendom  into  in- 
numerable conflicting  sects,  viz.,  the  corruptions  within  the 
Church — Ffoulkes  remarks  :  "  Yet  even  Luther  miojht  have 
taken  a  much  more  philosophical  view  of  it  all,  even  then, 
had  he  been  more  of  a  thinker.  He  mio-ht  have  learned  from 
our  Lord  that  Jerusalem  had  not  ceased  to  be  the  holy  city 
because  Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  gotten  the  upper  hand 
there.  He  might  have  learned  from  Eusebius  that  even  the 
primitive  Church  required  to  be  reminded  by  persecutions  of 
its  heavenward  aim.  He  might  have  learned,  by  comparing 
the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries  with  the  thirteenth,  that  the 
Cliurch  had  been  buried  under,  had  risen  up  from,  and  shaken 
off  far  greater  horrors  and  enormities  than  any  that  he  saw 

around   him Li  point  of  fact,  things   had   seen   their 

worst,  and  were  beginning  to  tnend,  when  Luther  appeared 
on  the  stage ;  and  even  among  those  who  opposed  him,  there 
were  many  Avho  both  acknowledged  and  mourned  over  the 
corruptions  which  they  could  not  eradicate,  as  sincerely  as 

he  did Li  the  Church  as  elsevv^here,  reformers  have  their 

persecutions  to  go  through,  and  all  real  successes  are  achieved 

by  patience  and  perseverance,  not  revolt Had  Luther, 

instead  of  rending  Christendom,  withdrawn  from  it ;  had  he 
organized  a  gigantic  emigration,  and,  grieved  and  indignant 
at  the  corruptions  which  he  saw  around  him,  crossed  the 
ocean,  Bible  in  hand,  with  twenty  thousand  followers,  men, 
women,  and  children,  a  mixed  multitude,  and  settled  in 
some  distant  and  unoccupied  continent — Australia,  for  in- 
stance —his  descendants  might  have  lived  on  in  perfect  good 
faith  there  till  now,  not  only  without  ceasing  to  be  Christians, 
but  without  deviating  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  most 

rigid  orthodoxy It  was  his  revolutionary  determination 

that  involved  Luther  and  his  theory — not  necessarily  hetero- 
dox in  its  origin — in  a  world  of  erroi"^  and  contradictions 
respecting  sin,  free-will,  faith,  and  baptism  themselves."  * 
*  "  Christenclom's  Dmsions,'*  pp.  125-127. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

PRIMITIVE    PROTESTANTISM. 

Fkom  the  days  of  Christ  to  the  present  time,  the  Christian 
Church  has  every  now  and  then  been  cursed  by  the  factious 
protests  and  innovations  of  restless  and  fanatical  men.  The 
pretexts,  motives,  and  sentiments  of  these  protesting  inno- 
vators have  been  exceedingly  various  and  contradictory. 
Their  numbers  have  been  very  great,  but  their  influence,  for 
the  most  part,  has  been  limited  and  transient.  We  present 
a  few  examples  as  types  of  several  classes,  in  order  that  a  just 
estimate  may  be  formed  of  their  general  character  and  influ- 
ences. 

Among  the  earliest  protesters  of  the  Christian  era  was 
the  high-priest  Caiaphas,  who  denied  that  our  Saviour  was 
what  He  j^rofessed  to  be,  and  accused  Him  of  blasphemy, 
falsehood,  and  imposition.  This  man  adjured  Jesus  "  to  tell 
him  if  He  were  Christ  the  Son  of  God."  And  when  Jesus 
had  responded  to  him,  "  Thou  hast  said — "  "  then  the  high- 
priest  rent  his  clothes,  saying,  He  hath  sj)oken  blasphemy ; 
what  further  need  have  we  of  witnesses  ?  Behold,  now  ye 
have  heard  His  blasphemy.  Wliat  think  ye  ?  Tliey  answered 
and  said,  He  is  guilty  of  death.  Then  did  they  spit  in  His 
face,  and  buffeted  Him,  and  others  smote  Him  with  the 
palms  of  tlieir  hands,  saying,  Proj)hesy  unto  us,  thou  Christ, 
who  is  he  that  smote  Thee  ?  "  * 

In  this  instance  the  pretext  was  that  Christ  was  endeavor- 

*  Matt.  xxvi.  63-68. 


248  CHKISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

ing  to  deceive  and  to  impose  upon  tlie  people  :  the  anhnus 
whicli  impelled  Caiaphas  was  jealousy  lest  the  new  religion 
should  interfere  Avith  his  priestly  emoluments  and  preroga- 
tives :  and  the  result,  a  gross  indignity  to  tlie  Son  of  God. 

When  Christ  restored  the  dumb  man  to  speechi  by  casting 
out  of  him  a  devil,  the  Pharisees  declared  that  the  miracle 
was  not  accomplished  througb  God,  but  through  tbe  prince 
of  devils,  thus  protesting  against  the  truthfulness  and  tlie  di- 
vine pretensions  of  the  Redeemer. 

When  the  Jews  brought  to  Jesus  the  woman  taken  in 
adultery,  for  the  purpose  of  entrapping  Him,  and  He  had 
silently  reproved  them,  they  asked  Him,  "  Who  art  Thou  ? 
And  Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Even  the  same  that  I  said  unto 
you  from  the  beginning.  .  .  .  Then  answered  the  Jevv^s,  and 
said  unto  Him,  Say  we  not  well  that  Thou  art  a  Samaritan, 
and  hast  a  devil?"  After  explaining  to  them  His  divine 
mission,  "  Jesus  said  unto  them,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
you,  before  Abraham  was,  I  am.  Then  took  they  up  stones 
to  cast  at  Him ;  but  Jesus  hid  Himself  and  went  out  of  the 
temple."  * 

These  Jewish  protesters  denied  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and 
stoned  Him  out  of  the  temple  for  asserting  the  fact. 

When  Jesus  had  restored  the  blind  man  to  sight  at  the 
pool  of  Siloam,  the  dissenting  Pharisees  declared  against  the 
miracle,  saying  :  "  This  man  is  not  of  God,  because  He  keep- 
eth  not  the  Sabbath  day.  Others  said.  How  can  a  man  who 
is  a  sinner  do  such  miracles?.  .  .  .  We  know  that  God  spake 
unto  Moses ;  as  for  this  fellow,  we  know  not  from  whence  He 
is."  f 

When  the  Jews  took  up  stones  to  throw  at  Jesus  in  the 
temple  in  Solomon's  porch.  He  answered  them :  "  Many 
good  Avorks  have  I  showed  you  from  My  Father,  for  which 
of  those  works  do  ye  stone  Me  ?  The  Jews  answered  Him,  say- 
ing. For  a  good  work  Ave  stone  Thee  not ;  but  for  blasphemy, 
and  because  that  Thou,  being  a  man,  makest  Thyself  God."  | 

*  John  viii,  25,  28.  f  John  iv.  29.  %  John  x.  31-33. 


PFvIMITIVE   PEOTESTANTISM.  249 

When  Christ  assured  the  multitude  at  Capernaum  that 
"  He  was  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from  heaven," 
and  that  "  whoever  ate  of  this  bread,  ate  His  flesh,"  many  of 
His  own  disciples  protested  against  the  declaration,  and  en- 
deavored to  induce  Him  to  alter  His  wordvS,  in  accordance 
with  their  own  private  and  rational  ideas.  When  the  Saviour 
reasserted  the  declaration,  in  still  more  explicit  language, 
and  demanded  their  absolute  faith,  they  protested  against 
tlie  miracle  as  being  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature,  and 
"  went  away  and  walked  no  more  with  Him  " — repudiating 
both  Him  and  His  doctrines. 

Among  the  primitive  apostles  and  Protestants,  must  be 
ranked  Judas  Iscariot,  who  practically  protested  against 
Christ  and  His  divine  mission,  by  abandoning  His  cause, 
and  betraying  Him  to  an  ignominious  death.  ISTaturally, 
tliis  man  was  deceitful,  avaricious,  and  perverse ;  but  when 
he  became  an  apostle  and  professed  personal  friend  of  Jesus 
Christ,  it  is  probable  that  the  great  truths  which  he  had 
heard  from  His  lips  had,  for  the  moment,  carried  conviction 
to  his  heart,  overwhelmed  his  instinctive  traits,  and  inclined 
him  to  a  life  of  godliness.  In  common  with  the  other  apos- 
tles, Judas  had  listened  to  the  Avords  of  life  from  the  God- 
man,  had  witnessed  His  astounding  miracles,  and  had  beheld 
the  dawn  of  a  reign  of  universal  love,  hope,  charity,  and 
peace,  in  place  of  the  existing  idolatry  and  wickedness  which 
then  filled  the  world.  In  his  heart  he  must  have  known  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  His  teachings  were  true 
and  holy.  For  a  time  this  knowledge  kept  down  the  old 
Adam  within  him,  restrained  his  natural  instincts,  and  in- 
clined him  to  obey  the  precepts  and  observances  of  his  holy 
Master.  But  a  temptation  Avas  before  him  which  he  could 
not  resist — the  purse  with  its  pieces  of  silver.  As  the  glit- 
tering coins  passed  through  his  itching  palms,  the  demon  of 
avarice  took  possession  of  him,  faith  fled  from  him,  and  the 
way  was  cleared  for  deceit,  falsehood,  and  ti'cason.  All 
the  Avonderful  things  Avhich  he  had  seen  and  heard,  now  be- 
came indistinct,  and  visions  of  Avorldly  riclies  and  pleasure 
11* 


250  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

dazzled  him.  Heretofore  lie  liad  received  the  scoffs  and  re- 
buffs of  unbelievers,  suffered  from  trials  and  privations,  and 
practised  in  accordance  with  the  divine  teachings.  But  he 
saw  within  his  reach  riches,  worldly  honors  and  eclat,  and  he 
yielded  to  his  natural  promptings  in  betraying  the  SaAaour 
of  the  world  to  crucifixion.  In  the  perpetration  of  this  mon- 
strous crime,  Judas  practically  protested  against  Christ  and 
His  religion.  As  Satan,  when  he  protested  against  the  in- 
structions which  Adam  and  Eve  had  received  from  God  with 
regard  to  the  forbidden  fruit  in  the  garden  of  Eden,  was  the 
first  Protestant  of  the  old  disjDensation,  so  was  Judas,  when 
he  denied  and  betrayed  Christ,  among  the  first  Protestants 
of  the  new  dispensation.  The  prince  of  darkness  commenced 
operations  in  propria  persona  ;  but  his  followers  and  imi- 
tators have  ever  since  been  prompted  and  aided  by  his  spirit, 
as  the  sequel  will  prove. 

The  Koman  procurator,  Pontius  Pilate,  and  his  wretched 
subjects,  denied  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  protested 
against  His  teachings,  and  put  Him  to  an  ignominious  death. 
Theoretically  and  practically  these  men  were  all  Protestants. 

These  cavillers  against  the  personal  teachings  of  the 
Saviour  were  mostly  impulsive  and  superstitious  Jews,  Gen- 
tiles, Pharisees,  and  pagans;  but  the  stupendous  miracles 
which  Avere  continually  wrought  in  their  very  presence  usu- 
ally served  to  awe  them,  and  to  destroy  summarily  their 
power  for  evil.  After  the  ascension,  the  duty  of  combating 
these  heretical  dissenters  devolved  upon  the  ajDOstles  and 
their  successors.  As  might  have  been  expected,  their  efforts 
were  less  potent  than  those  of  their  divine  Master,  and  the 
opponents  were  more  bold,  more  persevering,  and  more  influ- 
ential than,  before.  But  in  the  end  relis:ious  truth  has  al- 
ways  triumphed.  Among  the  first  Protestants  who  attempt- 
ed to  create  dissensions  in  the  Church,  after  the  departure  of 
Christ  from  the  earth,  were  a  number  of  Corinthians  who 
protested  against  certain  doctrines  which  had  been  delivered 
to  the  Church  by  the  Saviour.  Pope  Clement  sent  three 
legates,  Claudius  Ephebus,  Valerius  Bito,  and  Fortunatus, 


PEIMITIVE  PKOTESTANTISM.  251 

to  remonstrate  with  the  dissenters,  to  correct  their  errors, 
and  to  arrest  their  schismatic  operations.  The  mission  was 
successful,  and  the  disturbers  abandoned  their  contentions. 

About  the  middle  of  the  second  century,  Montanus  and 
Maximilla  attempted  to  found  a  Protestant  Church  in  opi)o- 
sition  to  the  Catholic  Church.  These  men  were  enthusiastic, 
ascetic,  and  reckless  as  to  principles  or  consequences.  Their 
Protestantism  consisted  in  denying  that  the  Holy  Ghost  had 
succeeded  in  saving  mankind  through  Moses  or  Christ,  "but 
had  enlightened  and  sanctified  them  to  accomplish  tliis  great 
work."  They  repudiated  all  Church  authority,  advocated 
private  interpretation  of  Holy  Writ,  denied  the  lawfulness 
of  second  marriages,  the  power  of  forgiving  heinous  sins,  like 
adultery,  etc.,  and  rejected  every  thing  which  did  not  coin- 
cide with  human  logic  and  natural  laws.  The  energy  and 
boldness  of  these  innovators  gained  them  many  followers ; 
but  after  several  years  of  violent  opposition  to  the  authorized 
Church  of  Gocl,  their  factious  folly  terminated  in  mental  de- 
rangement, and  suicide  by  hanging,  as  the  apostasy  of  Judas 
had  done  before  them. 

Among  the  prominent  Protestant  sects  which  existed 
previously  to  the  third  century,  were  the  Eucratites,  or  primi- 
tive Puritans ;  Phrygians,  the  primitive  Spiritualists,  Docetes, 
Cajanists,  Valcntinians,  Marcionites,  Basilidians,  Eutychists, 
Ophians,  Simonians,  Montanists,  and  several  others  of  lesser 
importance. 

After  them  came  Ebion,  who  repudiated  all  the  epistles 
of  St.  Paul ;  Manichoeus,  who  asserted  that  no  part  of  the 
New  Testament  was  written  by  the  apostles,  that  all  Church 
authority  was  unnecessary,  and  that  each  person  should  be 
governed  by  his  own  private  judgment  in  religious  matters  ; 
Donatus,  who  believed  in  "  apostolic  succession,  in  the 
necessity  of  ecclesiastical  unity,  and  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
sacramental  system,"  but  denied  the  supremacy  of  the  Roman 
pontiff,  and  of  the  Catholic  Church,  because  certain  wicked 
bishops  and  priests  had  openly  practised  and  sanctioned 
abuses  and  violations  of  the  divine  laws;  Arius,  who  denied 


252  CUPwISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  divinity  of  our  Saviour,  and  rejected  the  epistle  of  Paul 
to  tbe  Hebrews ;  Marcion  and  Pelagius,  who,  while  professing 
to  be  Catholics,  protested  against  several  of  the  dogmas  of  the 
Church,  and  denied  the  authenticity  of  certain  portions  of  the 
Scriptures  which  were  recognized  by  the  Church ;  N"ovatian, 
who  denied  the  Catholic  doctrine  of  sacramental  j^enance. 
The  position  of  the  Donatists  was  similar  to  that  of  the 
Anglicans  of  the  j)resent  day,  while  the  Manichseans  may  be 
regarded  as  the  ultra  Protestants  of  this  early  period.  Both 
of  these  men  denounced  the  Church,  and  her  immutable  doc- 
trines, because  of  the  unbecoming  acts  of  certain  clerical 
individuals.  They  discarded  the  divine  truths  and  the  laws 
of  the  Church,  because  individuals  had  violated  these  truths 
and  these  Jaws,  and  appealed  to  private  judgment  in  the 
selection  of  their  creed  and  their  rule  of  action.  As  might 
have  been  expected,  these  primitive  Reformers  were  sjoeedily 
divided  into  several  distinct  sects. 

It  would  require  too  much  space  to  present  any  thing  like 
a  comprehensive  history  of  the  numerous  Protestant  sects 
and  innovators  of  the  primitive  ages  of  the  Christian  era. 
We  have  only  been  able  in  this  work  to  call  attention  to  a 
few  of  these  attempted  reformations,  but  they  will  serve  as 
types  of  all  the  others.  In  all  of  them,  the  pretexts,  objects, 
and  results  have  been  almost  identical.  All  have  subjected 
the  declarations  and  j^i'ccepts  of  Christ  to  the  test  of  private 
judgment ;  all  have  been  influenced  more  or  less  by  personal 
ambition,  love  of  notoriety,  unwillingness  to  submit  to  the 
restraints  of  religion,  and  a  spirit  of  faction;  and  the  results 
in  ail  instances  have  been  dissensions  among  individuals  of 
the  same  Christian  household,  more  or  less  disturbance  of  the 
unity  and  harmony  of  the  Church,  and  the  development  of 
skepticism,  immorality,  and  irrcligion.  Among  them  we  iind 
pioneer  representatives  of  nearly  every  sect  of  modern  times. 
During  the  sojourn  of  Jesus  upon  the  earth,  these  impious  men 
protested  that  He  was  not  the  Son  of  God ;  that  He  was 
possessed  of  a  devil;  that  He  cast  out  evil  spirits,  not 
through  any  divine  power,  but  through  Beelzebub ;  that  His 


PKIMITIVE   PROTESTANTISM.  253 

pretended  conversion  of  bread  and  wine  into  His  body  and 
blood  was  a  liction ;  that  He  was  an  impostor,  a  deceiv^er,  a 
false  teacher,  and  a  false  prophet.  After  tlie  ascension  came 
others,  who  protested  against  the  holy  Trinity,  the  Incarna- 
tion, the  sacramental  system  ;  others,  wlio  denied  that  Christ 
ever  founded  a  single  visible  Church,  with  an  ecclesiastical 
organization ;  others,  who  have  protested  against  the  idea 
that  Christ  lias  fulfilled  His  promise  of  remaining  with  His 
Church  forever,  and  of  preserving  within  it  His  sacred  truths, 
and  therefore  have  thrown  to  the  winds  all  authorities  and 
all  traditions,  and  have  relied  upon  private  inspiration  in 
forming  their  religious  oj^inions ;  others,  who  have  distorted 
and  perverted  isolated  passages  of  Holy  AVrit  into  articles  of 
faith,  and  thus  given  rise  to  numerous  doctrines  contrary  to 
tlie  spirit  of  Christ's  law. 

In  alluding  to  the  early  opjoositions  of  the  Church  among 
Christians,  Bossuet  truly  remarks  that  the  truths  diffused  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  always  clear,  simple,  pure,  and  uniform  ; 
while  the  doctrines  of  dissenters  are  always  inconsistent, 
contradictory,  and  changeahle.  Thus,  "the  first  confession 
of  faith  made  by  Arius,  and  presented  to  his  bishop  Alex- 
ander, has  since  undergone  a  continual  series  of  variations."  * 
As  St.  Hilaire  observed  to  one  of  the  earliest  protectors  of 
Arius,  the  Emperor  Constance,  "Like  architects  who  are  dis- 
pleased with  their  own  works,  they  are  continually  building 
up  and  tearing  down." 

The  history  of  all  dissenters  from  the  time  of  Christ, 
illustrates  this  assertion.  "  Heretics,"  says  TertuUian,  "  from 
their  nature,  continually  vary  in  their  rules,  that  is,  in  their 
confessions  of  faith.  Each  one  believes  that  he  has  a  riglit 
to  change  and  to  modify  what  he  has  received  as  his  own 
private  inspiration  dictates,  since  the  author  himself  has 
acted  in  accordance  with  his  own  personal  judgment.  Heresy 
always  retains  its  own  peculiar  nature,  in  never  ceasing  to 
make  innovations ;  and  the  progress  of  the  thing  is  similar  to 
its  origin.     What  has  been  permitted  to  Yalentinian  is  also 

*  Hist.  dc3  Yar.,  p.  113. 


254  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

allowed  to  Valentiuians ;  the  Marcionites  claim  the  same 
power  that  Marcion  had  ;  and  the  authors  of  any  particular 
heresy  possess  no  more  right  to  make  innovations  than  their 
proselytes.  All  heresies  change,  and  when  we  examine  them 
thoroughly,  we  find  them  continually  changing  from  Avhat 
they  were  in  the  first  instance." 


CIIAPTEE   XXII. 

MODERN     PROTESTANTISM. 

Like  its  primitive  archetype,  modern  Protestantism  is 
made  up  of  an  almost  endless  variety  of  opinions,  creeds,  and 
sects,  which  have  been  conceived  and  developed  by  indi- 
viduals.    Hostility  to  the  ancient  Church  has  always  been  at 
the  foundation  of  both  ancient  and  modem  Protestantism. 
With  no  fixed  principles,  and  no  definite  system  of  operation, 
its  modern  disciples  have  filled  the  world  with  divisions,  dis- 
sensions, and  a  general  condition  of  religious  chaos.     But  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  nearly  all  of  the  sects  coincide  Avith 
the  Puritanical  principles  inculcated  by  Calvin  and  Luther. 
Notwithstanding  the  numerous  attempts  which  have  been 
made  to  repudiate  the  tenets  of  Calvinism  and  Lutheranism, 
they  still  adhere  in  the  main  to  every  branch  of  Protestant- 
ism.    No   sectarian   subdivisions,  no   theological   subtleties 
have  ever  yet  been  able  to  remove  the  dominating  influences 
of  the  original  Puritan  system  as  established  by  its  original 
inventors.     At  the  present  time  we  have  in  this  country  not 
less  than  eight  different  subdivisions  of  Presbyterianism,  viz., 
the  Old  and  New  School,  Cumberland,  Associate,  Associate 
Reformed,  Reformed,  United,  Covenanters ;   and  yet  all  of 
them  retain  the  most  objectionable  features  of  the  religion  of 
Calvin.    The  same  fact  aj^plies  to  the  subdivisions  of  the  other 
sects.     As  we  advance  avc  shall  endeavor  to  show  that  the 
parent  source  of  this   theological  system  was  corrupt  and 


256  ClirJSTlANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

demoralizing,  and  that,  in  its  innumerable  ramifications,  its 
fruits  have  been  antagonistic  to  the  best  interests  of  society. 

The  stern  facts  of  history  demonstrate  conclusively  that 
the  Puritan  system  ^vhich  originated  with  Luther,  Calvin, 
Zwinglius,  Bucer,  Melanchthon,  and  the  Anabaptists  of  Mun- 
ster  and  Lcyden,  not  only  retarded  the  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity and  true  civilization,  but  that  it  has  been  the  chief 
cause  of  nearly  all  of  the  discords,  contentions,  civil  wars, 
and  other  national  calamities  which  have  occurred  during 
the  past  three  hundred  years.  "What  were  the  nature,  the 
objects,  and  the  tendencies  of  this  system  f  Its  fundamental 
principles  were  undoubtedly  revolutionary,  fatalistic,  world- 
ly. All  the  established  religious  doctrines  and  Scriptural  in- 
terpretations of  the  wise  and  pious  men  of  the  precedmg 
ages  were  ignored.  All  the  sacred  legacies  which  Christ  de- 
posited in  His  Church,  and  which  had  been  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation,  were  cast  aside ;  and  the  hasty  and 
fickle  inspirations  of  a  few  visionary  men  Avere  accepted  as 
Christianity  and  true  religion !  Free-agency  was  repudiated ; 
good  works  were  counted  as  nothing  in  the  j)lan  of  salvation  : 
God  was  regarded  as  the  author  and  creator  of  evil,  of  sin, 
and  of  human  wretchedness  and  woe ;  while  man  was  looked 
upon  as  a  powerless  agent  placed  uj^on  earth  without  volition 
or  responsibility,  and  predestined  before  his  creation  for  a 
certain  fixed  and  immutable  destiny.  Such,  in  brief,  was  the 
essence  of  the  Puritan  system. 

Two  prime  objects  were  at  its  foundation,  viz.,  the  over- 
throw of  the  ancient  Church  and  every  thing  pertaining  to 
it,  except  a  corrupted  version  of  its  Bible,  and  the  establish- 
ment upon  its  ruins  of  a  number  of  nev^^  tlieological  hypotheses 
and  new  religions  which  should  afford  greater  scoj^e  for  the 
indulgence  of  human  ambition,  and  the  baser  emotions  of  the 
heart.  Depraved  j)riests,  monks,  and  nuns,  joined  the  revolu- 
tionists in  order  to  escaj^e  the  rigid  discipline  of  the  Church, 
and  to  marry,  wrangle,  revel,  and  indulge  in  sensual  pleas- 
ures. Rulers  and  nobles  gave  in  their  adhesion,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enriching  themselves  by  robbing  tlio  rich  churches, 


MODERN   PROTESTANTISM.  257 

monasteries,  and  other  possessions  of  the  Churcli.  Peasants 
and  artisans  accepted  the  novel  theology,  in  order  to  save 
themselves  the  trouble  of  worshipping  God,  of  j^erforming 
their  religious  and  moral  duties,  and  of  restraining  their  evil 
propensities  and  passions.  It  was  very  convenient  for  them 
to  shift  all  responsibility  from  themselves  to  tlieir  Creator,  by 
simply  adopting  the  doctrine  of  justification.  It  was  a  most 
comfortable  idea  that  they  were  not  free  agents,  and  there- 
fore were  not  responsible  for  any  sins  they  might  commit, 
because  the  Almiglity  had  foreordained  and  irrevocably  pre- 
arranged all  mundane  events. 

In  order  to  accomplish  the  objects  of  the  Keformation, 
Luther  and  his  companions  cunningly  and  stealthily  departed 
from  the  Church,  taking  with  them  but  07ie  of  the  many 
sacred  deposits  with  which  her  divine  Founder  had  endovred 
her — a  copy  of  the  Latin  Vulgate  which  St.  Jerome  had 
translated  from  the  originals,  and  which  had  been  recognized 
as  authentic  by  all  the  ecclesiastical  councils,  and  by  the 
Universal  Church  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  Armed 
with  this  integral  portion  of  God's  holy  truths,  these  religious 
conspirators  commenced  operations.  How  ?  By  setting  up 
a  human  standard  of  religious  faith  and  practice,  and  then 
presenting  to  the  world  a  new  and  false  rendering  of  the  Bible 
which  should  coincide  with  this  standard  !  In  effecting  this 
novel  translation,  no  learned  council  was  invoked,  and  no 
consultations  Avith  wise,  holy,  and  learned  men  were  sought ; 
but  the  simple  ii^se  dixit  of  a  single  individual — an  indifferent 
scholar,  and  a  religious  enthusiast,  was  deemed  sufficient  to 
set  aside  in  an  instant  that  version  of  Holy  Word  wdiich 
the  wisdom  and  learninc:  of  fifteen  centuries  had  established 
as  veritable  and  sacred.  Many  of  the  corruptions  thus  per- 
petrated were  denounced  even  by  the  very  partisans  of  the 
Reformation  themselves,  and  a  bitter  quarrel  occurred  be- 
tween Luther  and  Zwinglius  upon  this  point.  From  that 
period  to  the  present  time,  each  sectary  has  taken  the  liberty 
of  distorting  the  Scriptures  in  accordance  with  his  own  hy- 
pothetical ideas.     Ostensibly  taking  the  Bible  as  their  only 


258  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

rule  of  faith,  these  men  presumed  to  pervert  its  sacred  trutlis 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  aiford  a  pretext  to  their  visionary  and 
absurd  tenets.  Thus  were  the  beneficent  teachings  of  Jesus 
Christ  made,  by  forced  and  false  renderings,  to  sustain  the 
dogmas  of  the  revolutionists. 

In  the  first  instance,  Luther  and  his  fellow-innovators  did 
not  jDresume  to  attack  a  single  article  of  Catholic  faith,  or  a 
single  princi23le  of  the  Catholic  religion ;  but  from  the  moulder- 
ing debris  of  bygone  centuries,  and  from  the  frailties  and 
weaknesses  of  individual  men  and  women,  the  pretexts  and 
arguments  of  the  Reformation  were  gathered.  If  a  bishop  or 
priest  had  violated  his  religious  obligations  in  ages  past  and 
gone,  each  individual  act  was  carefully  noted,  and  hurled 
Avith  hatred  and  derision  against  the  holy  Church  of  God. 
Charity  found  no  abiding-place  within  their  hearts,  but 
hatred,  ambition,  and  a  sj)irit  of  discord,  turbulence,  and 
vengeance,  dominated  over  them.  Very  soon,  however,  the 
Puritan  system  became  fully  developed,  and  the  real  objects 
to  which  we  have  alluded  became  manifest,  in  attempts  to 
destroy  all  the  ancient  landmarks  of  Christianity,  and  to 
build  up  the  vain  creeds  of  men.  One  of  the  pretended  ob- 
jects of  the  Reformation  was  the  enfranchisement  of  the 
minds  and  consciences  of  men  from  the  thraldom  and  the 
rigid  discipline  and  restraints  of  the  ancient  Church ;  and 
yet,  in  all  instances,  the  innovators  denounced  and  perse- 
cuted, often  to  the  death,  those  who  dared  to  diifer  with 
them  in  articles  of  faith.  Both  in  Germany  and  in  Switzer- 
land, the  doctrines  of  Luther  and  Calvin  were  enforced  upon 
the  ignorant  multitude  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Faith  in 
God  and  in  Holy  Writ,  was  not  suificient ;  but  faith  in  Luther 
and  Lutheranism,  or  in  Calvin  and  Calvinism,  was  essential 
to  salvation.  Moral  suasion  had  no  share  in  the  practical 
develojoment  of  the  Puritan  system,  as  the  jjlundered  and 
burning  churches,  colleges,  monasteries,  and  libraries  of  the 
Catholics  of  Luther's  day  amply  testify. 

In  forming  an  opinion  respecting  the  influence  of  the  Ref- 
ormation upon  the  morals  and  manners  of  Europe,  it  should 


MODERN   PROTESTANTISM.  250 

not  be  forgottcu  that  the  Reformers  arrogated  to  themselves 
the  functions  of  censors  and  interpreters  of  Holy  Writ,  and 
of  the  unwritten  traditions,  and  set  themselves  up  as  teach- 
ers and  leaders  of  the  Christian  world.  Scornfully  throwing 
aside  the  accumulated  knowledge  of  the  past,  these  men  re- 
jected, altered,  and  perverted  the  sacred  deposits  of  Chris- 
tianity in  every  conceivable  manner.  Their  denunciations 
were  for  the  most  part  against  the  immoralities  of  individ- 
uals; but  their  actual  attacks  were  directed  against  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  their 
madness,  hatred,  and  insubordination  they  became  blind  op- 
ponents of  every  thing  pertaining  to  Catholicity.  They  de- 
nounced tlie  only  visible  and  universal  Church  which  had 
existed  on  earth  since  the  Christian  era,  as  hetercdox,  cor- 
rupt, and  false,  and  its  priesthood  as  a  wicked  and  antichris- 
tian  oro-anization.  All  their  writiuo-s  and  utterances  im- 
plied  that  Christ  had  failed  in  His  promise  of  leading  His 
Church  into  all  truth,  of  rendering  it  visible  and  operative, 
and  of  preserving  it  in  its  integrity  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Professing  to  be  holier  and  wiser  than  other  men,  they  boast- 
ingly  anounced  themselves  as  divinely-chosen  regenerators 
and  apostles  of  primitive  Christianity — of  the  religion  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace  and  His  bumble  fishermen  and  followers. 
With  bitter  and  boisterous  invectives  against  an  institution 
wliich  had  preserved  and  perpetuated  Christianity  through 
so  many  dark  and  turbulent  centuries,  and  against  the 
myriads  of  holy  men,  who,  "with  their  lives  in  their  liauds, 
had  carried  and  preached  the  gospel  among  all  nations,  they 
claimed  that  Christ  had  permitted  the  Church  which  He  had 
founded  expressly  to  teach  and  to  perpetuate  the  new  dis- 
pensation, to  blunder  on  in  error,  immorality,  and  falseliood 
for  fifteen  centuries — useless  and  inoperative,  except  for  evil ! 
Impiously  asserting  that  this  organization  had  failed  in  its 
mission,  the  Reformers  proclaimed  themselves  the  only  true 
representatives  of  Christianity  on  earth,  and  eagerly  set 
themselves  to  work  in  the  manufacture  of  man-creeds,  man- 
sects,  and  man- worship,  in  the  forms  of  Lutheranism,  Calvin- 


260  CIIPJSTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ism,  and  the  like.  They  declared  that  all  wickedness,  crime, 
and  false  doctrine  were  to  be  s^yept  away  by  the  new  reli- 
gion, and  that  a  reign  of  holiness,  charity,  purity,  fraternity, 
and  happiness  was  to  dawn  upon  the  world.  The  Catholic 
Antichrist  was  to  be  put  down,  and  Lutheran  or  Calvinistic 
Puritanism  was  to  be  substituted  in  its  stead  as  the  Christian 
religion  !  Morality,  virtue,  peace,  and  concord  were  to  take 
the  places  of  immorality,  vice,  discord,  and  wretchedness. 
The  minds  and  consciences  of  men  were  to  be  enfranchised 
and  developed  into  models  of  intelligence  and  excellence. 
Each  individual,  however  ignorant  and  obtuse  he  might  be, 
vs^as  to  be  his  own  private  theologian  and  interr)reter  of  the 
mysteries  of  Holy  Writ,  and  to  act  accordingly.  Unity  of 
faith,  unity  of  Church,  and  unity  of  v/orship  were  regarded  as 
popish  delusions,  and  unworthy  of  recognition  under  the  new 
theological  system.  Such  Avere  a  few  of  the  professions  and 
pretensions  of  the  Reformers.  Let  the  sequel  show  how  these 
promises  were  fulfilled. 

In  allusion  to  this  subject  Ffoulkes  makes  the  follow- 
ing judicious  observations :  "  Protestantism  was  victorious 
enough  as  long  as  it  had  but  the  old  system  to  attack ;  but 
as  soon  as  ever  subjective  holiness  came  in  force  to  the 
rescue,  it  was  beaten  back  into  corners,  with  all  its  naked- 
ness exposed  to  viev>^.  What  man  had  it  to  compare  for  a 
moment  with  the  saints  of  the  Church,  as  followers  of  Christ, 
as  patterns  of  that  angelic  life  upon  earth  of  which  Chris- 
tians are  capable  ?  Secause  Luther  wished  to  see  monastic 
vows  abolished,  was  he  absolved  from  his  own  ?  Melancthon 
v/as  23ure  and  amiable,  but  he  Avas  infinitely  more  admired 
than  followed.  Calvin  attemj^ted  to  bind  his  disciples  to  a 
system  of  austere  discipline,  but  it  was  more  than  once  re- 
belled against  during  his  lifetime,  and  rnay  be  said  to  have 
died  out  with  him.  Zwinglius,  who  preceded,  and  Beza,  who 
succeeded  him,  had  been  notorious  profligates.  Osiander  was 
another  whose  character  did  not  stand  hio'h  even  amonijc  his 
friends.  Cranmer,  his  nephew,  by  unlawful  means  accepted 
the  arcliicpiscopal  pall  v^dth  a  lie  in  his  mouth.     Laurent 


MODEKN    PROTEST AInTISM.  2G1 

Peterson,  archbishop  of  Upsal,  bemoaned  the  licentiousness 
of  his  own  party,  which  he  coukl  not  check.  ]N'either  Bullin- 
ger  nor  Bucer,  (Ecolampadius,  nor  Peter  Martyr,  led  lives 
of  more  than  average  respectability.  I  am  not  now  speaking 
of  them  as  writers,  but  as  teachers  and  preachers  of  tlic  gos- 
pel, which  they  assumed  to  be.  Yet  it  is  notorious  that  men 
did  not  become  better  Christians,  or  even  more  moral,  than 
they  had  been  previously,  nor  creeds  more  simple  and  intelli- 
gible than  heretofore,  under  their  auspices.  There  was  no 
burning  enthusiasm  on  their  parts  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen,  where  Christ  had  never  been  preached  at  all.  The 
greater  part  of  then-  time  was  spent  in  the  investigation  of 
negations  or  contradictions,  and  their  whole  force  was  para- 
lyzed by  seeking  to  impose  new  professions  of  faith  upon  each 
other.  Isolated,  or  divided  among  themselves,  their  learn- 
ing, great  as  it  was,  offered  no  efiectual  resistance  to  tlie 
compact  mass  of  learning,  zeal,  and  piety  combined,  by  which 
it  was  assailed.  Practice,  as  usual,  was  the  criterion  by 
which  the  multitude  judged ;  and  hence  no  wonder  that  it 
should  have  come  to  pass,  as  Lord  Macaulay,  with  the  pages 
of  Eanke  open  before  him,  has  observed  pointedly,  that, 
'  though  at  first  the  chances  seemed  to  be  decidedly  in  favor 
of  Protestantism,  the  victory  remained  with  the  Church  of 
Rome.'  On  every  point  she  was  successful.  If  we  overleap 
another  half  century,  we  find  her  victorious  and  dominant  in 
France,  Belgium,  Bavaria,  Bohemia,  Austria,  Poland,  and 
Hungary.  Protestantism  had  at  first  driven  back  Catholi- 
cism to  the  Alj)s  and  the  Pyrenees ;  Catholicism  had  rallied, 
and  had  driven  back  Protestantism  even  to  the  German 
Ocean.  Nor  has  Protestantism,  in  the  course  of  two  hun- 
dred years,  been  able  to  reconquer  any  portion  of  wJiat  was 
then  lost."  * 

In  the  first  instance,  the  innovators  saw  no  errors  what- 
ever in  the  authorized  doctrines  of  the  Church,  but  they  sim- 
ply protested  against  certain  irregular   acts  of  individual 

*  Ffoulkcs,  "Christendom's  Divisions,  and  Essay  on  Ranke,"  pp.  122, 
132. 


262  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Catholics.  In  these  protests  against  the  abuses  of  individual 
bishops  and  priests  they  were  justified,  and  woukl  have  been 
sustained  by  almost  the  entire  Christian  world,  so  long  as 
the  opposition  was  continued  within  the  Church.  Thousands, 
in  bygone  ages,  had  made  similar  protests  against  similar 
abuses,  and  had  succeeded  in  eradicating  the  evils  com- 
plained of,  without  endangering  the  unity  of  the  Church,  or 
creating  new  and  false  religions.  Notable  examples  may  be 
found  in  the  lives  of  St.  Bernard,  Jerome,  and  other  ancient 
fathers. 

Finding  that  his  first  protest  against  the  sale  of  indulgen- 
ces by  a  rival  Dominican  monk,  Tetzel,  met  the  approval  of 
a  considerable  number  of  materialistic  Germans  of  Witten- 
berg, and  that  he  was  gaining  some  notoriety,  Luther  cau- 
tiously insinuated  some  doubts  respecting  the  obligation  of 
obedience  to  the  Church  and  her  chief  bishop.  He  followed 
in  the  footsteps  of  Montanus,  Donatus,  Manichoeus,  and  No- 
vatian,  of  tlie  second  and  third  centuries — -advancing  the 
same  objections,  and  proposing,  like  them,  to  substitute  his 
own  private  opinions  in  place  of  the  established  doctrines  of 
the  Church.  His  sensual  and  naturally  skeptical  country- 
men were  still  with  him,  still  ajoplauded  and  flattered  him. 
Ere  long  he  began  to  denounce  openly,  in  pul23it  and  in 
print,  several  of  the  dogmas  of  the  Church,  and  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  sovereign  pontifi".  Error  succeeded  error,  au- 
dacity followed  audacity,  until  he  had  repudiated  nearly 
every  vital  doctrine  of  Christianity,  and 'established  a  creed 
of  his  ow^n  invention,  at  variance  with  Scripture,  and  e\'en 
common-sense.  As  Luther  advanced  in  his  innovations,  his 
mind  became  morbidly  excited,  and  his  conscience  was  con- 
tinually burdened  Avith  apprehensions  and  terrors  at  the  con- 
templation of  the  terrible  responsibility  he  had  assumed. 
This  is  evident  from  his  apologetic  letters  to  the  pope  and 
his  representatives,  acknowledging  the  duty  of  obedience  to 
the  Church  and  to  the  pope,  and  oifering  entire  submission 
on  certain  trifling  conditions.  But  the  excitement  and  dread 
under  which  he  constantly  suflered  w^as  too  much  for  the 


MODEEN   PROTESTANTISM.  263 

sanguine  temperament  of  the  nnfortunate  o-entleman,  and  ho 
unquestionably  became  a  victim  to  religious  monomania. 
In  another  place  we  shall  demonstrate  this  fact. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  first  pretexts  employed  by 
Luther  for  his  religious  revolution  were  the  sale  of  indulgen- 
ces for  the  benefit  of  the  Church  by  the  monk  Tetzcl,  and 
the  conceded  fact  that  there  had  been,  and  then  were, 
wicked  priests  in  the  Church.  These  personal  abuses  were 
in  no  way  connected  with  the  authorized  doctrines  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  but  were  in  direct  opposition  to  all  the 
teachings,  prece23ts,  and  to  the  entire  spirit  of  Catholicity. 
Not  a  sinojle  word  can  be  found  in  the  leoritimate  doctrines 
of  the  Church,  or  in  the  canons  and  decrees  of  her  ecclesias- 
tical councils,  which  authorizes,  or  in  the  slightest  degree 
sanctions,  the  abuses  of  which  Luther  first  complained.  No 
candid  man  will  claim  tliat  these  specious  pretexts  warranted 
a  religious  revolution  outside  of  the  Church,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  and  sti'ange  creeds  and  sects  by  disaffected 
men.  No  one  will  claim  that  such  a  revolution  was  likely  to 
subserve  the  cause  of  truth.  Christian  unity,  and  true  religion. 

At  a  later  period,  when  a  morbid  ambition  to  become 
the  founder  and  leader  of  a  sect  took  possession  of  the  Au- 
gustine innovator,  he  asserted  that  the  Church  had  enslaved 
the  human  mind  and  conscience,  had  imposed  upon  man- 
kind a  system  of  priestcraft  and  superstition,  and  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  every  man  to  abandon  it,  to  make  the  Bible 
his  only  rule  of  faith,  to  become  his  own  theologian  and  in- 
terpreter, and  then — mark  the  sequel — he  a  Lutheran  !  We 
have  already  shown  the  fallacy  of  this  later  pretext,  in 
demonstrating  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Catholic  Church  are 
not  the  works  of  me/i,  but  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  them  to 
the  Church,  and  promised  to  guard  and  preserve  them  there 
in  their  purity  and  integrity  forever.  The  justness  of  this 
pretext  of  Luther  cannot  be  admitted  without  conceding 
that  the  positive  promise  of  our  Saviour  has  been  unfulfilled, 
that  He  would  remain  with  Ilis  Church  forever,  and  that  its 
holy  doctrines  should  be  preserved  in  their  original  purity. 


2Q4:  CHEISTIANITT   Al>rD   ITS    COIvrFLICTS. 

Certain  truths,  like  the  laws  of  gravitation,  crystalliza- 
tion, and  chemical  combination,  are  self-evident,  fundamen- 
tal, immutable,  and  men  accept  them  as  permanent,  unques- 
tionable, and  unalterable  facts.  They  do  not  regard  this  fixed 
and  immutable  belief  as  an  enslavement  of  the  human  mind, 
nor  do  they  dream  of  submitting  these  abstruse  questions  to 
private  examinations  by  an  ignorant  multitude  for  explana- 
tions respecting  the  nature  and  rationale  of  these  laws  of  na- 
ture. How  much  less  should  the  great  truths  of  Christianity 
which  the  Son  of  God  rev^ealed  to  man,  be  dragged  from  their 
holy  sanctuary  by  impious  hands,  and  subjected  to  indiscrim- 
inate analysis,  criticism,  and  perversion  ! 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

DOCTRINES  OF  THE  INNOVATORS  OF  THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY. 

As  soon  as  Luther  and  his  innovating  contemporaries  had 
repudiated  the  ancient  religion,  they  found  themselves  cen- 
tres of  applauding  factions  of  materialists  and  skeptics, 
leaders  of  new  religious  parties,  and  expected  authors  of  new 
and  reformed  articles  of  faith,  and  of  new  creeds.  They  had 
no  choice ;  substitutes  were  demanded  in  place  of  the  old 
system — platforms  upon  which  the  turbulent  and  factious 
men  of  the  period  could  stand  with  some  little  pretence  to 
Christianity,  In  this  euiergency  each  innovator  brought 
into  requisition  his  inventive  faculties,  produced  a  novel 
creed,  and  then  constituted  himself  the  prophet,  the  Christ, 
the  principal  object  of  his  religion.  The  watchwords  were 
JJiitJieranism^  Calviiiism^  Anahaptiam^  Socinianisin^  and  the 
like,  not  CJiristianity.  Such  portions  of  the  sacred  writings 
as  opposed  their  newly-conceived  hypotheses  were  cither 
deliberately  perverted  or  summarily  rejected. 

As  might  have  been  expected  from  such  a  policy,  its 
legitimate  results  v/ere  speedily  manifested  in  the  iutroduc- 
tion  of  an  almost  endless  variety  of  theological  hyi:)othcse3 
and  creeds,  and  a  very  general  prevalence  of  rationalism  and 
atheism. 

"  The  principle  of  rationalism,"  says  Moehler,  "  is  inhe- 
rent in  the  ve^y  nature  of  Protestantism ;  it  manifested 
itself  in  tlie  very  origin  of  the  Reformation,  and  has  since,  to 
12 


266  CHEISTIAITITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

a  greater  or  less  extent,  and  in  every  conceivable  form,  re- 
vealed its  existence  in  almost  every  Protestant  community. 
.  .  .  For  if  the  interpretation  of  the  Bible, belong  to  private 
judgment,  the  previous  questions  as  to  its  authenticity,  in- 
tegrity, and  inspiration,  without  the  settlement  whereof  the 
right  of  interpretation  becomes  nugatory,  must  be  submitted 
to  the  decision  of  individual  reason.  Thus  has  the  most 
insidious  and  dangerous  form  of  infidelity  grown  naturally^ 
immediately^  and  irresistibly  out  of  tlie  very  root  of  Protes- 
tantism." * 

The  religious  revolutionists  of  the  sixteenth  century  pro- 
fessed to  be  Reformers — to  banish  error^  and  to  substitute 
in  its  23lace  truth — ^to  restore  to  the  world  a  lost  Church,  lost 
doctrines,  and  lost  ordinances,  as  they  were  first  given  to 
the  apostles.  We  propose  to  describe  briefly  these  newly- 
discovered  doctrines,  so  that  the  reader  can  judge  whether 
they  are  of  divine  or  of  human  origin. 

1.   Original  Sin. 

Luther,  Calvin,  and  their  discij)les,  maintained  that 
through  Adam's  fall  his  entire  physical  and  spiritual  being 
became  perverted  and  corrupted  in  such  a  manner,  that  his 
whole  nature,  disposition,  propensities,  desires,  and  thoughts, 
were  absolutely  and  totally  evil ;  that  this  sinful  nature  so 
thoroughly  and  cbmpletely  pervaded  his  entire  organization, 
that  his  capacity  for  receiving  good  impressions  and  influ- 
ences was  utterly  extinguished,  and  that  the  stains  of  sin  were 
so  thoroughly  fixed  within  him,  and  necessarily  adhered  to  him 
in  such  a  manner,  that  no  sorrow  or  repentance  could  eradicate 
them ;  that  this  corrupt  nature  is  entailed  upon  all  his  pos- 
terity, so  that  no  course  of  action  on  the  part  of  any  indi- 
vidual can  exercise  the  slightest  influence  in  rescuing  him 
from  eternal  perdition  ;  that  all  free-will,  all  spiritual  powers, 
and  all  capacity  for  good,  either  in  thought  or  deed,  are 
utterly  destroyed.     "  Man,"  says  Luther,  "  as  he  is  born  of 


^  u 


Symbolism,"  pp.  25,  29. 


DOCTEINES    OF   THE   INNOVATORS,    ETC.  2G7 

his  fiither  and  mother,  together  witli  his  whole  nature  and 
essence,  is  not  only  a  sinner,  but  sin  itself."  Calvin  thought 
"  that  the  image  of  God  was  utterly  effaced  from  the  soul  of 
man  by  the  fall,  and  that  man  has  been  so  banished  from  the 
kingdom  of  God,  that  all  in  him  which  bears  reference  to  the 
blessed  life  of  the  Lord,  is  extinct."  *  Melancthon  and  Zwing- 
liiis  maintained  that  God  deliberately  and  intentionally  im- 
planted original  sin  in  Adam,  and  that  He  is  not  only  the  au- 
thor of  original  sin,  but  of  all  the  sins  resulting  from  this  super- 
induced sinful  propensity.  In  1525,  Melancthon,  in  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  writes:  "That  God 
wrought  all  things,  evil  as  well  as  good ;  that  He  was  the  au- 
thor of  David's  adultery,  and  the  treason  of  Judas,  as  well  as 
of  Paul's  conversion  ....  and  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of 
man  to  abstain  from  Avickedness."  In  1530,  Zwinglius,  in  his 
work  on  Providence,  asserts,  "  that  God  is  the  autJioi\  inovei\ 
and  impeller  to  sin  ;  that  He  also  makes  the  sinner ;  that  by 
the  instrumentality  of  the  creature  He  jn'oduces  injustice  and 
the  like."  f  Calvin  repeatedly  says,  "  that  man,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  God,  doeth  what  it  is  unlawful  to  do ;  by  a  myste- 
rious divine  inspiration,  the  heart  of  man  turneth  to  evil  ; 
man  falleth  because  the  providence  of  God  so  ordaincth."  % 
After  Calvin's  death,  his  successor,  and  the  leader  of  the 
sect,  Theodore  Beza,  taught  "  that  God  not  only  incites,  im- 
pels, and  urges  to  evil ;  but  that  the  Almighty  creates  a  \)oy- 
tion  of  men  as  His  instruments,  loitJi  the  intent  of  working 
evil  throu2:h  them."  8  From  this  Puritan  idea  of  orio-inal 
sin  originated  the  dogma  of  total  depravity. 

It  is  a  source  of  relief  to  revert  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
Catholic  Church  upon  original  sin,  after  a  perusal  of  the 
impious  sentiments  we  have  just  described.  While  the 
Catholic  Church  does  not  profess  to  comprehend  the  rationale 
of  God's  designs  and  works  on  earth,  or  to  penetrate  and 
explain  all  the  mysteries  connected  with  the  creation  of 
man,  and  his  intimate  relations  with  the  Creator  and  the 

*  Calvin's  lust.,  lib.  ii.,  p.  355.      f  Zwing.  de  Prov.,  c.  vi.,  opp.  torn,  i.,  f.  365. 
\  Calv.  Inst.,  lib.  iv.,  c.  18.  §  Bcza,  Aphorism  xxii. 


268  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

creation,  it  yet  presents  us  with  a  Scriptural  and  a  reason- 
able idea  of  orisrinal  sin.  She  maintains  that  God  is  a  Beinir 
of  infinite  love;  and  in  placing  Adam  and  Eve  in  tlie  garden 
of  Eden,  He  endowed  them  with  every  capacity  for  perfect 
happiness.  He  gave  them  a  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  of 
right  and  wrong,  and  perfect  freedom  and  power  to  act  as 
they  chose,  to  obey  or  disobey  the  instructions  He  had  given 
them.  That  there  might  be  no  misapprehension.  He  an- 
nounced to  them  His  wishes  and  prohibition  respecting  the 
forbidden  fruit,  and  assured  them  of  the  penalty  which  would 
result  from  a  violation  of  His  commandment.  Adam  there- 
fore perfectly  understood  his  duty,  possessed  the  free-will 
and  the  power  to  do  it,  and  was  aware  of  the  guilt  and  the 
penalty  of  disobedience.  On  the  one  hand,  he  saw  his  Cre- 
ator who  had  endowed  him  with  every  earthly  blessing,  but 
had  subjected  him  to  a  slight  discipline  in  prohibiting  tlie 
forbidden  fruit ;  on  the  other  hand,  he  saw  Satan,  listened  to 
his  sophistries,  imbibed  a  spirit  of  rebellion,  and  deliberately 
violated  the  command  of  God.  In  this  entire  transaction 
Adam  was  a  perfectly  free  agent,  and  acted  with  a  complete 
knoAvledge  of  his  obligations  and  duties,  and  of  the  dangers 
of  a  violation  of  them.  Like  so  many  of  his  posterity,  the 
Adams  who  have  lived  since  his  day,  he  saw  the  straight 
and  narrow  road  which  leads  to  eternal  life,  and  the  broad 
road  which  leads  to  destruction,  but  he  wilfully  pursued  the 
latter. 

At  the  fifth  session  of  the  Tridentine  Council,  the  follow- 
ing decree  concerning  original  sin  was  passed  :  "  Adam,  by 
sin,  lost  his  original  justice  and  holiness,  drew  down  on  himself, 
by  his  disobedience,  the  displeasure  and  the  judgments  of 
the  Almighty,  incurred  the  penalty  of  death,  and  thus,  in  ail 
his  parts,  in  his  body  as  well  as  soul,  became  strangely 
deteriorated."  All  his  posterity  inherit  this  sinful  condi- 
tion, and  he  can  only  be  justified  before  God,  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  sole  mediator  between  God  and 
man  ;  but  as  man  is  a  free  agent,  and  possesses  all  the  requi- 
site knowledge  and  power,  he  is  able  to  fulfil  such  conditions 


DOCTRINES   OF   THE   INNOVATOES,    ETC.  2G9 

as  shall  insure  liis  salvation — both  the  power  of  God  and 
his  own  voluntary  acts  cooperating  in  the  accomplishment  of 
the  work. 

2.  Free-will 

Luther  maintains  "  tliat  man  is  devoid  of  freedom ;  that 
every  (pretended)  free  action  is  only  apparent;  that  an  irre- 
sistible divine  necessity  rules  all  things,  and  that  every 
human  act  is  at  bottom  only  the  act  of  God."  *  "  The 
human  will,"  says  Luther,  "  is  like  a  beast  of  burden.  If 
God  mounts  it,  it  wishes  and  goes  as  God  wills ;  if  Satan 
mounts  it,  it  wishes  and  goes  as  Satan  wills.  N'or  can  it 
choose  the  rider  it  would  prefer,  or  betake  itself  to  him,  but  it 
is  the  riders  who  contend  for  the  possession."  f 

Calvin,  Bucer,  Melancthon,  and  Zwinglius  all  entertained 
the  same  views  respecting  free-will.  Armsdorf,  one  of 
Luther's  most  eminent  disciples,  thus  writes  :  "  By  His  will 
and  speech,  God  worketh  all  things  with  all  creatures. 
When  God  w^ills  and  speaks,  stone  and  wood  are  carried, 
hewn  and  laid,  how,  when,  and  where  He  will.  Thus,  if  God 
wills  and  speaks,  man  becomes  converted,  pious,  and  just. 
For,  as  stone  and  v\^ood  are,  in  the  hand  and  power  of  God, 
so,  in  like  manner,  are  the  understanding  and  will  of  man  in 
the  hand  and  power  of  God;  so  that  man  can  absolutely  icill 
and  choose  nothing^  but  what  God  wills  and  speaks,  cither  in 
grace  or  in  wrath."  J 

This  denial  of  free-will  and  free-agency  in  man  arose 
naturally  and  spontaneously  from  the  peculiar  views  of  the 
Reformers  respecting  original  sin.  If,  by  the  fall,  Adam  lost 
all  germs  of  goodness,  all  spiritual  similitude  and  affinity 
with  the  Supreme  Intelligence,  and  all  capacity  to  receive 
good  impressions,  in  consequence  of  his  totally  perverted 
and  corrupt  nature,  the  inference  is  legitimate  that  he  also 
was  deprived  of  free-will  and  power  to  contribute  any  thing 
to  his  own  spiritual  elevation  and  destiny.     The  innovators 

*  Luth.  dc  Scrv.  Arb.  adv.  Erasra.     Rit.  opp.  ed.     Lat.  Jen.,  torn,  iii.,  f,  170. 
f  De  Servo  Arbitrio,  purs  i.,  sec.  24.  \  Plauk's  Hist.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  708. 


270  CHKISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

claim  that  Adam  was  placed  in  tliis  terrible  position  by  the 
Creator,  independently  of  his  own  volition,  without  any 
power  on  his  own  part  to  alter  his  fixed  destiny — that  the 
act  of  disobedience  was  predetermined  and  prearranged  be- 
fore his  creation,  and  that  he  was  a  passive  and  powerless 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  God — a  necessary  link  in  the 
grand  design  of  the  creation.  Another  predestined  link  in 
the  divine  programme,  according  to  Calvin  and  his  disciples, 
was  the  election  of  a  certain  portion  for  salvation,  and  of  the 
other  portion  for  eternal  condemnation ;  and  that  these 
selections  are  made  by  God  alone,  independently  of  any 
efforts  or  works  on  the  part  of  the  creature.  To  those  whom 
He  has  elected  for  salvation,  He  gives  fait/ij  and  by  this  gift 
alone  they  are  justified,  and  assured  of  salvation,  even  if  they 
commit  the  vilest  sins  daily;  while  the  condemned  victims 
are  already  judged,  sentenced,  and  held  for  eternal  punish- 
ment, though  they  commit  no  sin,  and  act  uprightly  and 
justly  in  all  tilings.  In  all  spiritual  matters,  these  innovating 
theologians  deny  the  existence  of  every  thing  like  free-will 
and  individual  influence.  Like  clouds  which  are  blown 
about  by  the  winds,  men  are  regarded  as  the  poAverless  pup- 
pets and  playthings  of  a  foreordained,  predestinated,  and 
inexorable  fate,  powerless  to  change  their  destmy  for  good  or 
evil,  for  heaven  or  hell.  According  to  the  Reformers,  God 
alone  possesses  free-will ;  He  alone  conceived  and  created  the 
universe ;  He  alone  planned  the  laws  which  preside  over  the 
kino-doms  of  nature ;  He  alone  foreknew  all  thino;s  which 
should  transpire  in  the  world ;  and  therefore  that  all  things 
have  been  ordered  and  arranged  by  Divine  Providence,  in  an 
immutable  and  inevitable  manner,  so  that  men  are  necessarily 
creatures  of  foreordained  circumstances,  Avithout  free  agency, 
or  power  of  changing  their  predestinated  conditions.  Hence, 
they  infer  that  God  is  the  author  of  sin.  Upon  this  first  point, 
Luther  expresses  himself  thus :  "  God  forms  in  us  evil  as  well 
as  good ;  and  the  great  perfection  of  faith  consists  in  believ- 
ing that  God  is  just,  although  He  has  predestinated  us,  from 
the  bcfrinnino:  of  the  world,  to  be  damned.  .  .  .  The  foreknowl- 


DOCTRINES   OF   THE   INNOVATOKS,    ETC.  271 

edge  of  God  renders  free-will  absolutely  impossible ....  and 
God  was  not  less  the  cause  of  the  treason  of  Judas  Iscariot 
than  of  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul."  Wickliffe,  and  his  dis- 
ciple, John  Huss,  entertained  many  of  the  opinions  which 
were  afterward  adopted  by  Luther  and  his  friends,  although 
they  were  regarded  by  Melancthon  as  men  full  of  errors, 
sophistry,  and  chicanery,  and  that  their  doctrines  were  cal- 
culated to  lead  men  into  all  sorts  of  errors  and  excesses. 
Wickliffe  contended  that  all  things  occur  from  absolute 
necessity ;  that  God  acts  from  necessity  in  all  things,  and 
presides  over  a  world  of  fixed  and  immutable  laws,  necessi- 
ties, and  developments,  and  therefore  that  He  is  the  author 
and  approver  of  all  sins,  crimes,  and  calamities,  as  well  as  of 
all  that  is  good  and  merciful.  The  Council  of  Constance  was 
right  in  declaring  that,  according  to  his  hypothesis,  "  God  is 
obliged  to  obey  the  deviV  Wickliffe,  however,  believed  in 
the  invocation  of  saints,  in  purgatory,  in  honoring  images, 
and  in  many  of  the  essential  doctrines  of  the  Church  ;  but  he 
denied  the  supremacy  of  the  pope,  and  several  of  the  discipli- 
nary canons  of  the  Church.  These  facts  are  derived  from  his 
principal  work,  published  in  1524,  "The  Trialogue." 

No  one  can  scrutinize  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformers  con- 
cerning original  sin,  free-will,  and  predestination,  without 
conceding  that  they  lead  directly  and  necessarily  io  fatalism. 
The  natural  results  of  such  sentiments  are  either  reliixious 
bigotry  and  intolerance,  or  rationalism,  atheism,  and  a  gen- 
eral indifference  to  all  matters  pertaining  to  spiritual  life. 
As  we  continue,  these  truths  will  be  verified. 


> 


3.  Predestination. 

The  folloAving  is  Calvin's  definition  of  predestination  : 
"  We  call  predestination  that  eternal  decree  of  God,  whereby 
He  hath  determined  what  the  fate  of  every  man  shall  be. 
For  not  to  the  same  destiny  are  all  created :  for,  to  some  is 
allotted  eternal  life ;  to  others,  eternal  damnation.  Accord- 
ing as  man  is  made  for  one  end,  or  for  the  other,  we  call  him 


272  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

predestinated  to  life,  or  to  death."  *  Calvin .  declares  tliat 
these  23redestinated  decrees  of  God  are  determined  without 
any  reference  to  the  virtues  or  the  vices  of  those  He  has 
elected  for  salvation,  or  condemned  to  eternal  pmiishment. 
The  Reformers  maintain  that  God  is  the  author  of  all  things, 
good  and  bad,  and  that  whatsoever  comes  to  pass  is  from 
a  necessity  incident  to  the  origin,  design,  and  creation  of  the 
universe. 

The  absolute  predestination  of  the  innovators  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  Mohammedan  fatalism  under  another  name. 
Mohammedans  maintain  that  God  foreknew,  foreordained, 
and  prearranged  wliatever  should  transpire  from  the  com- 
mencement to  the  end  of  the  world ;  and  tliat  man  is  only 
a  preorganized  constituent  of  the  universe,  whose  career  and 
destiny  had  been  irrevocably  fixed  before  the  creation  of  the 
world.  So  little  faith  have  these  fatalists  that  any  personal 
efforts  can  alter  or  modify  the  fixed  decrees  of  the  Almighty, 
that  in  thousands  of  instances,  they  have  refused  to  take  or- 
dinary measures  to  shield  themselves  from  impending  dan- 
gers. If  it  is  fated  that  some  calamity  is  to  befall  them,  they 
regard  all  cfibrts  or  Avoi'ks  on  their  parts  as  unavailing  ;  while 
if  the  decree  has  gone  forth  that  they  are  to  be  rescued  from 
harm,  the  inevitable  result  will  be  accomplished  whether 
they  desire  it  or  not,  or  whether  they  exert  themselves  or 
not.  These  are  the  doctrines  of  modern  predcstinationists. 
The  hypoth.esis  of  Luther  and  his  co-innovators,  uj^on  this  sub- 
ject, both  theoretically  and  practically,  is  identical  with 
that  of  Islam.  "  The  fundamental  principle  of  the  Iweformers 
was,  that,  without  any  human  cooperation,  the  Divine  Sj)irit 
penetrated  into  the  soul  of  the  true  Christian,  and  that  the  lat- 
ter, in  his  relation  to  the  former,  is  with  respect  to  all  religious 
feeling,  thought,  and  will,  perfectly  passive."  f 

If  the  doctrines  of  the  predestinationists  are  true,  and  all 
the  thoughts,  actions,  and  destinies  of  men  are  governed 
and  directed  by  the  will  and  power  of  God  alone — ^men  being 
deprived  of  all  cooperation — of  what  use  are  the  Bible,  hu- 

*  Calviu's  lust.,  lib.  iii.  p.  S8Y.  f  Mcchkr's  Symbolism,  p.  42,6. 


DOCTELN^ES    OF   THE    mNOVATOKS,    ETC.  273 


man  creeds,  theological  discussions,  and  sects  ?  If  God  has 
predestinated  for  all  men  their  careers  and  destinies,  inde- 
pendently of  their  ONvn  wills  and  efforts,  how  presumptuous 
are  all  human  attempts  to  interfere  in  these  fixed  and  im- 
mutable arrangements  of  the  Almighty !  How  impious  in 
mortals  to  manufacture  confessions  of  faitli,  to  Avrangle  and 
2>reach  on  doctrinal  points,  and  to  incite  nations  to  hostility, 
strife,  and  bloodshed,  when  God  alone  has  irrevocably  or- 
dered and  permanently  arranged  all  things  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  !  Will  it  be  urged  that  the  Infinite  Fountain 
of  love  and  mercy  has  deliberately  designed  and  predesti- 
nated these  conflicting  tenets  of  tlie  Ileformers,  and  the  conse- 
quent contentions,  wars,  and  calamities  with  which  they 
have  since  afflicted  the  nations  of  the  earth  ?  We  envy  not 
the  hearts  and  consciences  of  those  v,4io  dare  impute  to 
God  such  palpable  injustice  and  wanton  cruelty,  ratlier  than 
to  acknowledge  their  own  inability  to  comprehend  the  mys- 
teries with  which  He  has  surrounded  the  works  of  His  hands. 
These  peculiar  views  of  original  sin,  free-will,  and  pre- 
destination," developed  as  a  logical  sequence  the  dogma  of 
"  Election  " — one  of  Calvin's  live  theological  points. 

4.  Justification  by  Faith, 

To  those  who  have  adopted  tlie  hypotheses  of  the  innovators 
respecting  original  sin,  free-will,  predestination,  and  the  in- 
efficacy  of  good  works  as  cooperative  means  of  salvation,  the 
following  pertinent  queries  must  continually  present  them- 
selves. Who  are  to  be  saved  ?  How  is  salvation  to  be 
secured  ?  Who  can  be  assured  of  salvation  ?  We  take  the 
liberty  of  presenting  briefly  a  few  of  the  arguments  and  in- 
ferences of  the  Reformers  touching  these  points. 

Since  the  fall  of  Adam  every  human  being  became  totally 
depraved,  and  incapable  of  receiving  any  good  impression, 
or  of  performing  any  meritorious  act,  Luther,  Calvin,  and 
other  sectaries  of  their  epoch,  inferred  that  no  man  is  a  free 
agent.  Who  then  are  to  be  saved?  According  to  the  inno- 
12* 


274  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

vators,  those  only  whom  God  has  foreordained  and  predes- 
tinated to  this  haj^py  destiny  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world ;  while  judgment  of  eternal  condemnation  was  rendered 
against  the  remainder  at  the  same  pre-mundane  period. 

How,  then,  can  man  be  assured  of  salvation  ?  The  Re- 
formers assert  that  this  may  be  known  by  the  actual  posses- 
sion of  faith  which  God  forcibly  implants  within  him,  whether 
he  desires  it  or  not,  or  whether  he  performs  good  works  or 
not.  When  this  faith  once  takes  possession  of  him,  he  is 
justified  and  sanctified — he  must  be  saved,  with  or  without 
sin,  with  or  without  good  works — and  the  very  fact  that  lie 
believes  renders  it  certain  that  he  is  one  of  the  elect,  This 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  originated  with  Luther,  and 
Avas  afterward  adojDted  by  Calvin,  Melancthon,  Zwingiius, 
Bucer,  and  their  followers.  One  of  the  canons  of  the  Synod 
of  Dordrect  declares,  "  that  God  gives  true  and  vivid  faith  to 
all  those  whom  He  desires  to  rescue  from  damnation,  and  to 
those  alone/  that  this  faith  is  a  gift  of  God;  and  that  all  of 
the  elect  are  assured  of  their  election  by  certain  infallible 
tests."  In  illustration'  of  Luther's  tenacity  with  regard  to 
the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone  without  works, 
D'Aubigne  quotes  the  following  observation  of  Luther  :  "  I 
see  that  the  devil  is  continually  attacking  this  fundamental 
article  by  means  of  his  doctors,  and  that  in  this  respect  he 
can  never  cease  or  take  any  repose.  Well,  then,  I,  Doctor 
Martin  Luther,  unworthy  herald  of  the  gospel  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  confess  this  article,  that  faith  alone  loithout 
worJcs  justifies  before  God ;  and  I  declare  that  it  shall  stand 
and  remain  forever  in  despite  the  emperor  of  the  Romans,  the 
emperor  of  the  Turks,  the  emperor  of  the  Tartars,  the  em- 
peror of  the  Persians  ;  in  spite  of  the  j^ope  and  all  the  cardi- 
nals, with  the  priests,  bishops,  monks,  and  nuns ;  in  sjoite  of 
kings,  princes,  and  nobles;  and  in  spite  of  all  the  world,  and 
of  the  devils  themselves;  and  that,  if  they  endeavor  to  fight 
against  this  truth,  they  will  draw  the  fires  of  hell  ujDon  their 
heads.  This  is  the  true  and  holy  gospel,  and  the  declaration 
of  me.  Doctor  Lutlier,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  Holy 


DOCTEINES   OF   THE   INNOVATORS,    ETC.  275 


Ghost I  say  it  once  again,  should  all  the  world  and  all 

the  devils  tear  each  other  to  pieces  and  burst  with  rage,  that 
it  is  not  the  less  true."  *  So  tenacious  of  this  dogma  was 
Luther,  that  he  actually  mistranslated  and  perverted  de- 
liberately a  portion  of  the  Bible,  and  rejected  other  portions, 
in  order  that  his  own  theological  platform  might  be  sustained. 
For  example,  St,  Peter  wrote  these  words :  "  Labor  that  by 
good  works  you  may  make  sure  of  your  vocation  and  elec- 
tion." Luther  thus  corrupts  the  sentence  :  "  Labor  that  you 
make  sure  your  vocation  and  election,"  omitting  the  imi^oit- 
ant  words,  "  by  good  works."  Zwinglius,  one  of  his  fellow- 
innovators,  sent  bim  a  letter  with  the  folloAving  reproof: 
"  Thou  corruptest  the  word  of  God,  O  Luther :  thou  art  seen 
to  be  a  manifest  and  common  corrupter  and  perverter  of  the 
Holy  Scrij^tures ;  how  much  are  we  ashamed  of  tbee,  who 
have  hitherto  esteemed  thee  beyond  all  measure,  and  prove 
thee  to  be  such  a  man ! "  f  Luther  at  one  time  also  denied 
the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of  three  of  the  gospels,  de- 
claring that  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  is  the  only  one  which  is 
truly  inspired.  At  one  period  of  his  life  he  likewise  rejected 
the  ten  commandments,  on  the  ground  that  they  were  first 
written  by  Moses,  and  were,  therefore,  only  intended  for  the 
men  of  the  old  dispensation.     "  The  ten  commandments," 

says  Luther,   "  belong  not  to  Christians Let  the  ten 

commandments  be  altogether  rejected,  and  all  heresy  will 
presently  cease ;  for  the  ten  commandments  are,  as  it  were, 
the  fountain  from  whence  all  heresies  spring."  J  Whenever 
the  declarations  of  the  apostles  clashed  with  the  theological 
tenets  of  Luther  or  Calvin,  they  impiously  rejected  these 
apostolic  teachings  and  substituted  their  own  in  their  stead. 
These  modern  apostles  were  especially  hostile  to  those  sjDCcial 
favorites  of  our  Saviour,  Saints  Paul  and  Peter.  Calvin  even 
asserted  "  that  Peter  added  to  the  schism  of  the  Church,  to  the 


'3 


*  "History  of  the  Reformation,"  page  '71. 

\  Zwinglius,  t.  ii.,  ad  Luth.  lib.  dc  S. 

J  "  Scrm.  dc  Mose."     In  Carvival.  CoUoq.  Cit  by  Auri  Cap.  de  Lege. 


276  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

endangering  of  Christian  liberty,  and  the  overthrow  of  the 
grace  of  Christ." 

Most  Protestants  claim  that  all  of  those  who  are  selected 
for  salvation  are  endowed  from  above,  not  only  with  faith 
and  an  intuitive  knowledge  that  they  are  among  the  elect, 
but  with  irresistible  tendencies  to  perform  good  works ; 
while  the  condemned  are  cursed  with  inherent  aud  perpetual 
unbelief,  aud  a  continual  and  helpless  impulse  to  do  evil. 
"  The  Protestants  of  the  sixteenth  century,"  says  Moehler, 
"  with  their  doctrine  of  justification,  swore  eternal  enmity  to 
the  heroic  virtues  of  Christianity,  and  effectually  dried  up 
that  mighty  stream  of  charity  which  had  fertilized  and  em- 
bellished our  European  soil,  and  covered  it  with  countless  in- 
stitutions, formed  to  glorify  God,  and  solace,  sustain,  and 

exalt  humanity These  doctiines  of  unbelief,  taught  by 

the  immense  majority  of  the  Protestant  clergy,  penetrated 
by  degrees  among  all  classes  of  the  laity,  and  led  to  the  gen- 
eral neglect  of  divine  service,  to  the  j^erversion  of  youth  in 
the  establishments  of  education,  to  the  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath,  the  fearful  multiplication  of  divorce,  and  to  general 
demoralization."  *  Even  during  the  lives  of  the  Reformers 
every  form  of  infidelity,  immorality,  and  vice,  made  rapid 
progress.  This  has  been  repeatedly  admitted  by  Luther. 
Such  was  the  legitimate  and  inevitable  result  of  throwing 
ofl^the  salutary  restraints  of  the  ancient  Church,  and  opening 
a  door  to  private  interpretation  of  Holy  Writ,  and  to  the 
intellectual  and  moral  idiosyncrasies  and  projoensities  of 
individuals.  In  future  chapters  we  shall  show  that  similar 
results  have  obtained  from  the  days  of  Luther  to  the  present 
time.  We  shall  demonstrate  the  antichristian  and  demoral- 
izing influences  of  Protestantism  wherever  it  has  obtained  a 
foothold,  making  use  of  the  sacred  doctrines  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  His  inspired  apostles  as  our  standard  of  comparison. 

The  Reformers  could  not  have  conceived  of  a  more  efficient 
mode  of  making  proselytes  to  tlieir  novel  religions  than 
through  predestination,  the  inefficacy  of  good  works,   and 

*  "Symbolism,"  page  31, 


DOCTKINES   OF   THE   INNOVATORS,    ETC.  2Y7 

justification  by  faith.  They  shifted  all  responsibility  from 
the  creature  to  the  Creator.  They  taught  that  every  thing 
which  has  transpired,  or  will  transpire  from  the  beginning 
to  the  end  of  the  world,  were  accomplished  facts  with  the 
Almighty  before  the  creation,  and,  therefore,  that  all  co- 
operative efforts  on  the  part  of  mortals  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  regeneration,  justification,  and  sanctification,  are  not 
only  useless,  but  wicked  and  officious  interferences  with  the 
exclusive  prerogative  of  God.  So  far  has  this  last  idea  been 
pushed  by  several  of  the  Reformers,  that  they  have  actually 
sanctioned  the  commission  of  sin  in  order  that  ccrace  miijht 
abound,  and  that  God  might  receive  all  the  glory  of  the 
work  of  regeneration  and  salvation.  We  cite  a  few  extracts 
from  the  writings  of  the  innovators  upon  this  subject.  Luther 
maintained,  "  that  no  works  could  possibly  be  pure  and  ac- 
ceptable to  the  Deity ;  that  even  the  best  work  is  a  venial 
sin ;  that  every  so-called  good  work — that  is  to  say,  every 
act  of  a  believer — is,  when  considered  in  itself,  a  mortal  sin, 
though,  by  reason  of  faith,  it  is  remitted  to  him.  Melanc- 
thon  not  only  expressed  full  concurrence  in  this  doctrine  of 
his  master,  but  carried  it  out  to  an  extreme,  by  asserting 
that  all  our  works,  all  our  endeavors,  are  nothing  hut  sin. 
Calvin  corroborated  the  assertions  of  both." -'^  In  1559,  Van 
Amsdorf,  the  intimate  friend  and  disciple  of  Luther,  pub- 
lished an  elaborate  work,  entitled  "  The  Proposition  of  N. 
Van  Amsdorf,"  in  which  he  attempted  to  show  "  that  good 
woi-ks  were  even  hurtful  to  salvation."  Another  eminent 
disciple  of  Luther,  Major,  asserts,  "  that  faith  alone  saves  ; 
by  faith  alone  we  are  justified  witliout  works."  f  "  ISTow  thou 
seest,"  says  Luther,  "  hovr  rich  is  the  Christian  or  the  bap- 
tized man ;  for,  though  he  will,  he  cannot  lose  his  salvation, 
hoicever  great  his  sins  onay  he,  unless  he  refuses  to  helieve.'^^l 
Again,  Luther  writes :  "  Sin  lustily,  but  be  yet  more  lusty  in 
faith,  and  rejoice  in  Christ,  who  is  the  conqueror  of  sin,  of 
death,  and  of  the  world.     Sin  we  must,  so  long  as  we  remain 

*  "  Symbolism,"  page  242.  \  Solid.  Dcclar.  iv.,  page  6'72. 

X  Captiv.  Bab.,  torn,  ii.,  fol.  264. 


278  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

here.  It  suflices,  that,  through  the  riches  of  the  glory  of 
God,  Ave  know  the  Lamb  which  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world :  from  Him  no  sins  will  sever  us,  though  a  million  times 
in  a  day  we  should  fornicate  or  commit  adultery."  * 

This  exhortation  of  the  great  innovator  to  commit  sin, 
this  wanton  inculcation  of  its  absolute  necessity,  and  his  bold 
assurance  of  the  impunity  with  which  the  vilest  sins  may 
continually  be  committed,  provided  tliat  they  are  acconi- 
j)anied  by  faith  in  Lutheranism^  was  a  direct  appeal  to  the 
carnal  propensities  of  mankind.  Under  the  specious  pretext 
of  liberating  the  world  from  the  bigotries,  abuses,  and  re- 
straints of  the  Church,  these  men  established  a  reign  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  licentiousness  which  has  filled  the  world 
with  irreligion  and  immorality,  and  shaken  the  very  founda- 
tions of  Christianity  itself.  The  human  mind  is  prone  to 
adopt  those  sentiments  which  afford  the  greatest  scope  to 
the  indulgence  of  passion  and  pleasure.  To  gratify  these  in- 
dulgences it  is  constantly  seeking  for  plausible  novelties  and 
philosophies.  The  fatalistic  doctrines  of  the  Reformers  far- 
nished  a  stand-point  for  this  weak  side  of  human  nature. 

Who  can  contemplate  these  reforw^ed  ideas  of  God  and 
His  New  Law  without  a  shudder  of  horror  and  indignation  ? 
Who  can  seriously  believe  that  a  Being  of  infinite  love  and 
mercy  would  foreordain  and  predestinate  a  single  one  of  His 
helpless  creatures  to  eternal  perdition  ?  Were  such  an  atro- 
cious doctrine  asserted  of  Satan  himself,  it  would  scarcely 
receive  credence.  But  notwithstanding  these  supposed  pre- 
determined and  irrevocable  decrees  of  God,  many  of  the  in- 
novators have  had  the  inconsistency  to  urge  men  on  to  such 
mental  efforts  as  shall  produce  faith,  assuring  them,  when 
this  is  once  attained,  that  they  may  be  certain  that  they  are 
among  the  elect !  The  dangers  of  this  fallacy  will  be  appar- 
ent to  all  who  examine  the  j)ositive  declarations  and  com- 
mands of  Christ  respecting  those  things  which  are  essential 
to  salvation,  like  baptism,  penance,  and  obedience  to  the 
Commandments.     Many  minds  are  so  constituted,  so  j^rone 

*  Epist.  Luth.  Job.  Aur.  Coll.,  torn,  i.j  page  545. 


DOCTRINES   OF   THE   INNOVATOES,   ETC.  270 

to  credulity,  and  so  readily  moulded  in  accordance  with  any 
given  formulary,  tliat  only  moderate  efforts  are  rcquit>ite  to 
superinduce /t^^Y/i  in  any  hypothesis  which  may  be  presented, 
however  absurd  and  untenable.  Faith  is  one  of  the  most 
common  and  easily-developed  elements  of  the  human  mind. 
From  childhood,  onward,  it  is  continually  seeking  for  objects 
to  cling  to — for  hypotheses,  theories,  philosophies,  and  creeds, 
as  means  of  utility,  consolation,  or  happiness.  A  sectary  coins 
a  new  religious  creed,  abounding  in  gross  perversions  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  most  impious  ideas  respecting  the  good- 
ness and  mercy  of  God,  and  then  solicits  faith  in  this  creed 
as  the  sole  condition  of  salvation.  Were  tlicre  many  thou- 
sands of  these  human  creeds,  all  false,  and  all  pernicious  in 
their  tendencies,  they  would  all  have  their  followers,  firm  in 
faith^  and  thorough  and  consistent  in  practice.  Each  sectary 
coins  a  religion  from  his  own  brain,  flanked  here  and  there 
by  isolated  and  often  corrupted  jDassages  from  the  Scriptures, 
and  then  solicits  faith  in  this  human  invention  as  the  only 
condition  of  eternal  happiness  in  the  world  to  come.  Each 
one  professes  to  possess  certain  infallible  marks,  by  which 
the  divine  origin  and  truthfulness  of  his  religion  is  apparent, 
and  each  one  can  point  out  fatal  objections  to  the  religions  of 
his  neighbors.  The  Calvinist,  Avho  believes  that  God  lias 
condemned  a  certain  number  of  His  creatures  to  everlasting 
punishment,  denounces  the  creed  of  the  UniA'ersalist,  wdiich 
asserts  that  all  mankind  are  saved.  The  Trinitarian  enter- 
tains a  horror  of  the  creed  of  the  Unitarian.  The  believer  in 
justification  by  faith  alone  regards  all  cooperative  works  of 
men,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  salvation,  as  useless  and 
insulting  to  the  Deity.  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  Anabaptists, 
Herrnhuters,  Moravians,  Methodists,  Unitarians,  Quakers, 
Anglicans,  Universalists,  Millerites,  Mormons,  Spiritualists, 
and  all  of  the  sects,  have  perfect  faith  in  their  own  peculiar 
interpretations  of  the  Bible,  and  in  their  own  peculiar  reli- 
gions. y^'Al  faith  save  them  all?  One  sectary  interprets 
the  Scri])tures  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  God  the  author 
and  creator  of  sin,  and  the  eternal  punisher  and  tormentor  of 


280  CimiSTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

a  certain  number  of  helpless  victims  of  His  wrath.  Will 
faith  in  such  a  doctrine  secure  salvation  ?  Another  denies 
the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  regards  Him  only  in  the 
light  of  a  prophet.  Will  such  a  faith  save  him  ?  Another 
declares  that  there  is  no  hell,  no  eternal  punishment,  no 
devil.  Will  faith  in  this  creed  rescue  the  honest  believer 
from  the  penalties  attached  to  a  neglect  or  violation  of  the 
positive  laws  and  commands  of  God  ?  Some  reject  portions 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  accuse  the  inspired  apostles  of 
errors  and  schismatic  teachings  because  their  precepts  clash 
with  their  own  individual  and  rationalistic  hypotheses.  AVill 
ever  so  strong  a  faith  in  such  private  interpretations  of  the 
word  of  God  justify  and  sanctify  ?  Others,  deriving  their 
inspiration  from  the  Bible,  teach  that  it  is  right  to  commit 
sin,  in  order  that  grace  may  abound.  Will  faith  in  such  an 
interpretation  lead  to  heaven  ?  Many  have  faith  in  the  utter 
impotency  of  mortals  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  their  sj^irit- 
ual  welfare,  and  place  the  responsibility  of  all  good  and  bad 
deeds  upon  the  Almighty.  Will  such  faith  carry  one  safely 
to  the  haven  of  bliss  ? 

Some  absolute  predestinationists  assert  that  good  works 
always  follow  of  necessity  in  the  train  of  true  faith ;  and 
that  this  combination  of  faith  and  works  is  a  sure  indication 
of  the  real  Christian.  This  argument  falls  to  the  ground 
when  we  remember  the  fact  that  the  most  moral,  benevolent, 
and  charitable  men  of  the  world,  and  whose  lives  are  blame- 
less, are  to  be  found  among  those  who  deny  the  divinity  of 
the  Saviour,  the  necessity  of  baj^tism,  the  existence  of  a 
future  state  of  punishment,  and  many  of  the  sacred  writings. 
These  men  have  the  strongest  faith  in  their  own  dogmas, 
worship  God  in  sincerity,  and  do  unto  others  as  they  would 
be  done  by.  Good  Avorks  accompany  their  faith.  Are  they 
also  among  the  elect  ?     Are  they  also  justified  by  faith  ? 

Faith  in  some  kind  of  religion  is  an  instinctive  want  of  the 
human  mind ;  and,  in  most  instances,  consistent  and  aj^pro- 
priate  works  accompany  this  faith.  Christians  have  not 
firmer  faith  in  the  Bible  than  have  the  Mohammedans  in  the 


DOCTrJNES   OF  THE   INNOVATOES,    ETC.  281 

Koran ;  nor  do  the  former  obey  the  precepts  of  their  religion 
with  more  rigidity  than  do  the  latter.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  Hindoo,  the  Brahmin,  the  Bhuddist,  and  tlie  savage  who 
worships  the  Great  Spirit.  Christians  who  have  rejected 
the  divinely-founded  and  divinely-endowed  Church  of  Christ, 
and  adopted  the  novel  inventions  of  men,  are  often  perfectly 
sincere  and  earnest  in  their  religious  convictions.  They  have 
firm  faith  in  some  creed,  live  and  practise  in  accordance  with 
it,  and  are  fruitful  in  good  works.  But  among  the  thousand 
contradictory  and  conflicting  sects,  who  can  decide  which  is 
true  and  Vv'hich  false?  Among  the  innumerable  Reformed 
churches,  with  difierent  articles  of  faith,  diflcrent  modes  of 
worship),  and  difierent  ideas  respectiug  the  duties  and  neces- 
sities of  man,  how  can  we  find  the  one  Chnrch,  one  fold, 
and  one  Shepherd  which  Jesus  founded,  with  one  Lord,  one 
faith,  and  one  bajHism  ?  Can  we  detect  it  in  any  one  of 
the  numerous  reformed  confessions  of  faith,  from  any  special 
morality  and  virtue  pertaining  to  some  one  of  the  sects  ;  from 
a  resemblance  between  the  members  of  some  reformed  church 
and  the  holy  apostles ;  or  from  any  infalhble  marks  which 
indicate  that  a  divine  theological  Phoenix,  which  had  slum- 
bered profoundly  for  fifteen  centuries,  has  again  risen,  at  the 
bidding  of  a  German  monk,  from  the  ashes  of  the  past?  Or 
shall  we  discover  it,  by  seeking  for  that  Church  which  has 
existed  and  been  visible  from  the  days  of  Christ  to  the  pres- 
ent moment — which  is  universal — whose  doctrines  are  un- 
varying, and  vrhose  priests  and  missionaries,  ever  since  the 
time  of  the  apostles,  have  visited  all  of  the  nations  of  the 
earth  to  preach  and  teach  the  word  of  God,  who  have  braved 
every  danger  and  hardship,  and  in  almost  countless  instances 
Iiave  suflTered  martyrdom  in  the  cause  of  Christ  ? 

Justification  hy  faith  !  Faith  in  v/hat  ?  In  tlie  personal 
inspiration,  private  Scriptural  interpretation,  and  the  creed 
and  religion  of  some  individual  reformer  ?  Faith  in  Luther- 
anism,  or  Calvinism,  or  Socinianism,  or  Anabaptism,  or  Ar- 
minianism,  or  Quakerism,  or  some  other  sect  ?  Faith  that  God 
is  God.  and  that  Luther,  or  Calvin,  or  Socinius,  or  Arminius, 


282  CnEISTIANITY   A^^D   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

or  Fox  is  His  prophet  ?  Faitli  not  in  the  one  original  Church, 
but  in  one  which  was  brought  into  existence  by  one  of  the 
German,  or  Anglican,  or  Swiss  innovators  of  tlie  sixteenth 
century  ?  Faith  that  Christ's  mission  was  a  failure,  that  His 
Church  was  dead  and  invisible  for  fifteen  hundred  years, 
that  millions  of  human  beings  perished  in  ignorance  and  sin 
in  consequence  of  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  Word  of  God 
through  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  until  Martin  Lu- 
ther, or  Calvin,  or  some  one  of  the  Reformers  brought  light 
out  of  darkness  in  the  form  of  Lutheranism  or  Calvinism  ? 
Faith  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  the  Reformers 
of  these  latter  days  are  His  only  true  prophets  and  interpre- 
ters ?  Faith  that  a  simple,  naked,  mental  act,  without  works, 
without  obedience  to  the  commandments,  and  without  regard 
to  the  numerous  practical  injunctions  contained  in  the  Sacred 
Writings,  is  the  sole  practical  duty  of  man  toward  his  Maker, 
himself,  and  his  fellow-men  ? 

Those  who  adopt  the  fatalistic  doctrines  of  the  Reformers 
do  not  require  a  Bible,  a  confession  of  faith,  or  even  a  moral 
code,  since  all  things — good  and  evil — must  come  to  pass  in 
precise  accordance  with  the  predestinated  decrees  of  God. 
The  Holy  Scriptures  assert  that  faith  without  works  is  dead ; 
and  the  kind  of  works  which  are  requisite  are  accurately 
prescribed  in  the  sacred  commandments  and  ordinances. 
Faith  is,  indeed,  one  of  the  fundamental  elements  of  Christi- 
anity, but  its  signification  must  not  be  limited  to  a  simple 
mental  act.  The  entire  tenor  of  the  Sacred  Writings  teaches 
us  that  by  the  word  faith,  Christ  included  not  only  a  belief  in 
all  His  teachings,  but  a  practical  performance  of  them.  The 
definition  which  He  gave  of  "love  of  God,"  is  applicable  to 
faith.  "  In  what  consists  the  love  of  God  ?  Love  of  God 
consists  in  obeying  the  commandments."  In  like  manner 
faith  consists  in  a  belief  in  Christ  and  His  mission,  and  in 
obedience  to  the  commandments. 

The  inculcation  of  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith 
alone,  has  been  a  most  fruitful  source  of  evil.  A  few  of  its 
legitimate  consequences  have  been,  a  practical  repudiation 


DOCTRINES    GF   THE   INNOVATORS.    ETC.  283 

of  tlie  laws  and  commanclmcnts  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  all 
personal  responsibilities  and  duties  in  spiritual  matters,  a  par- 
alyzation  of  all  personal  effort  and  cooperation  in  the  great 
work  of  redemption  and  salvation,  and  an  alarming  tendency 
to  rationalism  and  religious  skepticism. 

No  one  can  examine  critically  and  impartially  the  inno- 
vations of  the  Reformers  without  arriving  at  the  conclusion 
that  their  tendencies  are  evil  and  anti-Christian.  The  gospel 
teaches  that  God  is  a  Being  of  infinite  love  and  mercy:  the 
innovators  regard  Him  as  a  malignant  demon,  who  has  de- 
liberately created  a  certain  number  of  helpless  creatures  for 
the  express  purpose  of  tormenting  them  forever!  Christ  in- 
culcated the  necessity  of  faith  in  and  actual  obedience  to  all 
His  commandments  and  ordinances,  as  conditions  of  salva- 
tion :  the  innovators  ignore  good  works,  and  rely  on  faith 
alone  as  the  sole  duty  of  the  Christian.  The  Bible  teaclies 
that  man  is  a  free  agent,  and  that  he  must  personally  exert 
himself  and  actively  cooperate  with  the  blessed  influences  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  if  he  would  serve  God  acceptably,  and  secure 
his  eternal  welfare :  the  Reformers  regard  man  as  a  passive 
instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  Supreme  Architect,  and  that 
any  attempts  at  personal  interference,  eflbrt,  or  cooperation 
in  the  work  of  regeneration  and  sanctification,  are  wicked 
and  censurable.  "  In  studying  the  writings  of  the  Reformers," 
says  Moehler,  "  the  thought  has  often  involuntarily  occurred 
to  us,  that  they  entertained  the  opinion  that  it  was  some- 
thing extremely  dangerous  to  be  really  good ;  nay,  that  the 
principle  of  sanctity,  so  soon  as  it  was  on  the  point  of  acquir- 
ing complete  dominion  over  a  man,  contained  the  germ  of 
its  own  destruction,  as  such  a  man  must  needs  become  arro- 
gant, fall  into  vain-glory,  liken  himself  to  the  Eternal,  and 
contend  Avith  Him  for  divine  sovereignty.  Hence  the  se- 
curity of  believers  seemed  to  require  that  they  should  ever 
keep  witliin  themselves  a  good  germ  of  evil,  because  in  this 
state  we  are  better  off!  Accordingly,  the  matter  was  so 
handled,  as  if  real  goodness  were  incompatible  with  humility, 
and  as  if  it  were  in  evil  only  that  this  virtue  flourished ;  where- 


28tl:  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

as  it  was  not  considered  that  wickedness  was  in  itself  tlie  con- 
trary of  true  humility,  and  utterly  excluded  it."  * 

The  spirit  which  pervades  the  writings  of  the  Reformers, 
fully  warrants  the  above  inferences,  and  the  practical  influ- 
ences of  their  tenets  upon  morals,  manners,  and  society  have 
everywhere  been  demoralizing  and  unchristian.  In  proof, 
we  cite  a  few  extracts  from  the  writings  of  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin :  "  But  the  gospel  preacheth  not  what  we  are  to  do,  and 
not  do  ;  requires  nothing  of  us,  but  turns  round,  doth  the  re- 
verse, and  saith  not.  Do  this,  do  that,  but  bids  us  only  hold 
out  our  laps,  and  saith.  Dear  man,  this  hath  God  done  for 
thee — He  hath  sent  His  Son  into  the  flesh  for  thee,  He  hath 
let  Him  be  slain  for  thy  sake,  and  hath  redeemed  thee  from 
sin,  death,  the  devil,  and  hell:  this  believe  and  hold,  and 
then  thou  art  saved."  f  "  It  would  not  be  quite  good  for 
us,"  says  Luther,  "  to  do  all  that  God  commands,  for  He 
Vv^oiild  thereby  be  deprived  of  His  divinity,  and  would  be- 
come a  liar,  and  could  not  remain  true.  The  authority  of  St. 
Paul,  too,  would  be  overturned,  for  he  says  in  Eomans  : 
*  God  hath  concluded  all  things  under  sin,  in  order  that  He 
might  have  mercy  on  all  men.'  "  J  Calvin  says :  "  Never  hath 
a  man,  not  even  one  regenerated  in  the  faith  in  Christ, 
wrought  a  .morally  good  work — a  work  which,  if  it  were 
htrictly  judged,  would  not  be  damnable." 

It  would  be  difficult  to  read  a  single  chapter  of  the  New 
Testament  without  finding  inspired  sentiments  in  direct  op- 
position to  these  reformed  teachings.  While  we  concede  that 
isolated  passages  may  be  distorted  from  their  real  significa- 
tions, and  made  use  of  by  designing  men  to  bolster  up  an 
absurd  hypotliesis  or  a  profane  tlieological  innovation,  the 
great  fact  nevertheless  remains  that  the  New  Law  was  given 
us  expressly  as  a  rule  of  religious  faith  and  a  practical  work- 
ing code.  The  entire  spirit  of  the  gospel  inculcates  the  ab- 
solute necessity  of  both  faith  and  works.  "  Faith  without 
works  is  dead."     "  Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men,  that 

*  "Symbolism,"  p.  230.  f  Lutli.  Comment,  on  Ep.  to  Gall,  loc.  cit,  p.  257. 
:j:Liitb.,  "Table-Talk,"  p.  166. 


DOCTEINES    OF   THE   ESTNOVATOKS,    ETC.  285 

they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify  your  Father 
Avhich  is  in  heaven."*  "Marvel  not  at  this:  for  tlie  hour 
is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall 
hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have  done 
good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life;  and  they  that  have  done 
evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation."  f  "  Whosoever 
shall  give  you  a  cup  of  water  to  drink  in  My  name,  because 
ye  belong  to  Christ,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  he  shall  not  lose 
his  reward."  |  In  this  instance  Christ  not  only  required 
faith  in  Himself  and  in  His  divine  mission,  but  He  demand- 
ed the  act  of  giving  the  water.  When  the  young  man 
came  to  Christ  and  asked  Him  what  he  should  do  to  have 
eternal  life,  "  Jesus  answered  him.  But  if  thou  wilt  enter  into 
life,  keep  the  commandments.'''*  In  this  instance  the  Saviour 
recognized  the  free  agency  of  the  young  man,  and  the  neces- 
sity of  performing  good  vrorks  by  keeping  the  commandments. 
This  obedience  to  the  commandments,  conjoined  with  faith, 
were  all  that  our  Saviour  absolutely  required  ;  and  when  the 
young  man  informed  Him  that  he  had  kept  all  of  these  things 
from  his  youth  up,  and  again  inquired  what  he  yet  lacked ; 
"  Jesus  said  unto  him.  If  thou  wilt  be  perfect,  go  and  eell  that 
thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure 
in  heaven :  and  come  and  follow  Me."  § 

In  both  of  these  examples,  worJcs  are  demanded — in  the 
first  instance,  certain  definite  works,  in  order  to  secure  salva- 
tion ;  and  still  other  works,  more  difficult  and  self-denying,  in 
order  to  achieve  the  highest  degree  of  excellence — perfection. 
As  all  men  are  to  be  rewarded  in  heaven  accordmg  to  the 
deeds  done  in  the  hody^  the  j^erfect  Christian  will  occupy  a 
higher  place  in  heaven  than  he  who  simply  obeys  the  com- 
mandments. In  their  doctrinal  innovations,  Luther  and  liis 
contemporary  Reformers  violated  at  every  jDoint  the  spirit 
and  intent  of  the  Sacred  Writins-s.  In  their  efibrts  to  sustain 
the  hypothesis  that  faith,  in  its  abstract  sense,  alone  saves, 
they  did  not  hesitate  to  corrupt,  pervert,  and  distort  the 

*  Matt.  V.  16.  f  John  v.  28,  29. 

X  Mark  x.  41.  §  Matt.  xix.  Ifi,  20,  21. 


286  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

plain  teachings  of  Christ  and  the  apostles.  "  Salvation  the 
Catholic  attaches  only  to  the  individual  interior  life  of  the 
reofenerated — to  faith  and  love — to  the  fulfilment  of  the  law, 
or  to  the  concurrence  of  the  religious  and  ethical  principles  : 
he  places  both  in  an  equal  relation  to  a  future  life,  for  both 
alike  possess  an  eternal  value."  * 

We  most  earnestly  invite  the  renewed  attention  of  Protes- 
tants to  this  imi^ortant  subject.  Yf  e  entreat  them  to  cast 
aside  their  preconceived  notions  and  prejudices,  contemplate 
seriously  the  beneficent  interpretation  which  the  Church  has 
handed  down  from  the  apostles  upon  this  subject,  and  con- 
trast this  view  with  the  innovations  of  the  Reformers.  We 
beseech  them  to  remember  that  this,  as  well  as  all  of  the 
otlier  doctrines  of  the  Church,  are  o^  divine  origin.  No  Cath- 
olic has  ever  dared  to  afiix  his  name  to  these  sacred  truths, 
with  a  view  of  achieving  notoriety,  or  of  gratifying  an  unhal- 
lowed ambition.  No  individual  has  ever  j^resumed  to  come 
within  the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  Church,  and  set  up  his  pri- 
vate opinions  against  her  divinely-endowed  and  divinely-jDro- 
tected  truths.  The  innovators  have  never  attempted  to  enter 
in  at  the  door  to  present  their  complaints,  but  have  climbed 
up  on  the  outer  walls  of  the  great  fortress  of  Christianity  and 
delivered  their  impotent  blows  against  this  impregnable 
bulwark  of  truth.  This  fortress  of  Christianity  still  stands 
immutable,  and  affords  protection,  hope,  and  consolation  to 
more  than  tv>^o  hundred  millions  of  true  believers. 

*  "  Symbolism,"  p.  297 


CHAPTEE  XXIY. 

TRAITS  OF  A  FEW  OF  THE  TROMINENT  INNOVATORS. 

lAither. 

One  of  the  most  notable  circumstances  connected  with 
the  career  of  Martin  Luther,  consists  in  the  marked  contrast 
which  we  find  in  his  mind,  morals,  and  life,  as  a  Catholic  monk 
and  a  Protestant  Reformer.  Every  medical  man  who  exam- 
ines critically  the  career  of  this  unfortunate  gentleman,  must 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  suffered,  during  certain  por- 
tions of  his  innovating  career,  from  that  variety  of  mental 
perversion  which  medical  men  term  religious  monomania. 
So  long  as  he  resided  within  the  walls  of  the  Erfurth  monas- 
tery as  an  Augustine  monk,  and  submitted  to  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  order,  he  was  temperate,  modest,  moral, 
and  faithful  to  all  of  his  duties.  During  this  entire  period 
he  was  charitable,  patient,  tolerant,  and  just  toward  all  men, 
firm  and  unwavering  in  his  religious  convictions,  and  prompt 
and  faithful  in  their  performance. 

Although  his  parents  were  in  humble  circumstances,  he 
succeeded  in  securing  the  aid  of  able  teachers,  and  his  native 
talent  and  thirst  for  knowledge  impelled  him  to  such  a  course 
of  study  as  enabled  him  to  become  a  moderately  good  lin- 
guist, and  passably  well  acquainted  with  the  theological  lit- 
erature of  his  day.  As  an  orator,  he  possessed  remarkable 
powers.  His  fiow  of  language,  his  memory,  and  his  fund  of 
metaphor,  raillery,  invective,  and  sarcasm,  were  inexhaustible. 


288  CHEISTIAKITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

As  a  polemical  writer,  he  also  possessed  powers  of  no  com- 
mon order.  As  soon  as  lie  had  fairly  detached  himself  from 
the  Church,  all  these  natural  faculties  were  hrought  into 
action,  and  became  the  sport  and  playthings  of  a  perverted, 
yea,  a  deranged  intellect.  Behold  him  as  a  child,  a  youth, 
a  devoted  monk — amiable,  conscientious,  and  eager  to  per- 
form his  religious  duties :  then  as  a  Reformer — bokl,  intoler- 
ant, intemperate,  reckless,  fanatical. 

In  the  year  1517  Luther  was  thirty-three  years  of  age, 
and  had  been  an  Augustinian  monk  for  eleven  years.  Up  to 
this  time  he  had  remained  true  to  the  Church  in  faith  and  in 
practice.  From  the  *'  History  of  the  Council  of  Trent  "  we 
learn  that  "  Luther's  first  opposition  to  the  Church  originated 
in  Pope  Leo's  deviation  from  the  previous  custom  of  consign- 
ing the  dispensation  of  indulgences  solely  to  the  Augustin- 
ians.  The  object  of  these  spiritual  privileges,  or  indulgences, 
was  the  obtaining  of  alms  toward  rebuilding  the  Vatican 
Church."  -^  The  promulgation  of  these  indulgences  was  in- 
trusted in  part  to  the  Dominicans,  and  in  part  to  the  Fran- 
ciscans. As  an  Augustinian,  Luther  resented  tbis  transfer  of 
patronage,  and  here  we  find  the  original  motive  of  his  inno- 
vations. Li  Luther's  day,  the  rivalry  between  the  difierent 
religious  orders  in  Germany  was  quite  strongly  pronounced. 
It  was  natural  that  each  should  desire  to  secure  and  retain 
as  much  patronage  and  infiuence  as  possible.  And  this  fact 
readily  explains  the  impulse  of  Luther  and  his  brethren  of 
the  Augustinian  order,  in  their  opposition  to  the  transfer  of 
the  dispensation  of  indulgences  to  their  rivals  the  Domini- 
cans. Here  is  the  germ  of  Luther's  dejection — a  small  spark 
of  envy  developed  in  a  naturally  impulsive  and  inflammable 
heart.  Here  was  an  insignificant  morbid  element  which  y^as 
destined  to  contaminate  the  whole  moral  and  intellectual  na- 
ture of  the  man,  and  rouse  into  activity  the  fires  of  passion, 
ambition,  and  blind  frenzy.  Step  by  step  he  trampled  upon 
the  truths  of  religion,  and  madly  seized  hold  of  error  after 
error,  until  finally  even  his  own  friends  regarded  him  as  a 

*  Council  of  Trent,  p.  v. 


TEAITS    OF   A   FEW    OF   THE    PROMINENT   INNOVATORS.       289 

perverted  and  ferocious  fanatic.  At  this  time  Lutlier  was  a 
professor  of  pliilosopliy  at  the  University  of  Wittenberg. 
"He  had  conceived  a  disrelish  for  the  prevailing  philosophy 
of  Aristotle,  and  the  scholastic  system  of  St.  Thomas ;  and 
burning  alreadj'',  it  is  said,  though  for  what  cause  does  not 
seem  clear,  with  a  fierce  hatred  against  the  court  of  Rome, 
lie  was  eager  and  able  to  seize  on  the  reputed  exaggerations  of 
Tetzel  and  his  compeers,  in  the  matter  of  indulgences,  to  vent 
his  bile  against  a  rival  order,  and  through  them  against  the 
Roman  court ;  to  obtain  notoriety  for  himself;  to  indulge  his 
humor  for  novelty ;  and  to  appear  in  the  attractive  character 
of  a  zealot  and  a  Reformer.  Luther's  character  is  impressed 
on  almost  every  page  of  his  writings,  and  on  the  great  events 
of  his  life.  To  considerable  learning,  acquired  by  patient 
study  under  able  masters,  he  united  great  intrepidity,  fer- 
tility of  resource,  singular  readiness  of  plain  but  nervous 
language  and  metaphor,  fondness  of  applause,  coupled  with 
an  unbounded  love  of  self  and  of  authority,  which  burst  forth 
almost  into  frenzy  against  those  of  his  party  who  dared  op- 
pose him ;  and  above  all  a  truculent  ferocity  of  abuse,  which, 
throughout  his  whole  career,  he  heaped,  without  considera- 
tion of  eminence  of  rank,  or  person,  or  character,  upon  every 
foe,  or  former  friend."  *  When  Vergerius,  the  legate  of 
Paul  III.,  visited  Wittenberg,  to  confer  with  the  elector  in 
1535  respecting  the  holding  of  a  general  council,  Luther  was 
introduced  to  him  by  the  elector.  He  writes :  "  To  give 
my  opinion,  derived  from  his  countenance,  dress,  gestures, 
and  words,  be  he  a  man  of  talent  or  not,  he  is  the  very  per- 
sonification of  pride,  malice,  and  impudence." 

During  the  height  of  his  popularity,  he  was  almost  con- 
tinually under  the  influence  of  morbid  impressions.  His 
chief  hallucinations  consisted  in  imaginary  visions  of  Satan, 
and  of  men  with  horns  and  tails,  with  the  features  of  animals, 
converted  into  various  inanimate  objects,  clad  in  all  sorts  of 
strange  and  fantastic  garbs,  some  foaming  at  the  mouth, 
others  roaring  and  screaming  wdth  rage.     While  staying  at 

*  Council  of  Trent,  p.  vii. 
13 


290  CHEISTIAIHTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

the  castle  of  Waitburg,  tie  himself  declares  "  that  he  had 
confercDces  with  the  devil ; "  he  describes  the  appearance, 
voice,  and  manner  of  his  Satanic  friend ;  holds  arguments 
with  him  concerning  private  masses ;  acknowledges  that  the 
devil  gets  the  best  of  the  argument,  and  convinces  him  of 
his  errors;  and  he  decides  to  follow  his  advice.  He  believed 
that  his  opponents  were  all  possessed  of  devils,  and  when 
they  die,  that  the  devil  strangles  them.  One  of  his  own  dis- 
ciples, and  a  leading  Reformer,  (Ecolarapadius,  wrote  of  him 
as  follows  :  "  He  is  puffed  up  with  pride  and  arrogance,  and 
is  seduced  by  Satan."  The  same  brother  Reformer  adds  in 
another  place,  "  that  he  was  possessed  not  by  one,  but  by  a 
whole  troop  of  devils,"  *  "  and  that  he  wrote  all  his  works 
by  the  impulse  and  the  dictation  of  the  devil,  with  whom  he 
had  dealings,  and  who  in  the  struggle  seemed  to  have  thrown 
him  by  victorious  arguments."  f  "  This  man,"  says  another 
contemporaneous  Reformer,  "  is  absolutely  mad.  He  never 
ceases  to  combat  truth  against  all  justice,  even  against  the 
cry  of  his  own  conscience."  J  It  was  a  favorite  saying  of 
his,  "  that  unless  we  have  the  devil  hanging  about  our  necks 
we  are  but  pitiful  speculative  theologians."  §  His  brother 
Protestants  of  the  Church  of  Zurich  wrote  of  him  as  follows: 
"  But  how  strangely  does  this  fellow  let  himself  be  carried 
away  by  his  devils  !  How  disgusting  is  his  language,  and 
how  full  are  his  words  of  the  devil  of  hell !  "  || 

One  of  the  most  deplorable  features  of  Luther's  mental 
perversion,  was  his  shameless  blasphemy  against  religion, 
the  Church,  and  even  God  Himself.  It  is  a  mystery  how  a 
mind  of  this  order  could  have  led  astray  so  many  intelligent 
and  reasoning  believers  in  Christianity.  It  is  a  marvel  that 
a  man  whose  daily  life  demonstrated  the  fact  that  his  brain 
was  disordered,  could  have  coined  a  new  creed,  a  new  reli- 
gion, dubbed  it  with  his  own  name,  and  then  have  secured  a 
Beet  of  believers  and  followers  !     We  can  only  explain  the 

*  Audin,  p.  188.  f  Cont.  Conf.  Luth.,  p.  61. 

X  Hospinian.  §  Audin,  p.  3GG. 

I  Church  of  Zurich,  Cont.  Conf.  Luth. 


TRAITS    OF   A   FEW    OF   THE    PEOMINENT   INNOVATOES.       291 

phenomenon,  upon  the  theory  advanced  by  Bishop  Butler  in 
his  "  Analogy,"  "  that  entire  communities,  as  well  as  individ- 
uals, sometimes  become  insane."  We  cite  a  few  of  Luther's 
blasphemous  observations  :  "I  owe  more  to  my  dear  Cathe- 
rine and  to  Philip  than  to  God  Himself."  *  Again  :  "  God 
has  made  many  mistakes.  I  would  have  given  Him  good 
advice  had  I  assisted  at  the  creation.  I  would  have  made 
the  sun  shine  incessantly ;  the  day  would  have  been  without 

end."f     Again:  "May  the  name  of  the  pope  be  d d; 

may  his  reign  be  abolished  ;  may  his  will  be  restrained.  If 
I  thought  that  God  did  not  hear  my  prayer,  I  would  address 
the  devil."  J  In  his  theological  controversy  with  Emser,  he 
writes  as  follows  :  "After  a  little  time  I  will  joray  against 
him  ;  .  .  .  for  it  is  better  that  he  should  perish,  than  that  he 
should  continue  to  blaspheme  Christ.  I  do  not  wish  you  to 
j)ray  for  this  wretch,  pray  for  us  alone."  §  In  addressing 
his  disciples  on  one  occasion,  he  told  them  that  if  they  would 
obey  him  in  all  things  he  would  secure  to  tliem  all  sorts  of 
"graces  and  privileges  from  his  majesty.  If  you  disobey 
me,  I  declare  to  you  that  I  will  become  your  enemy,  and  do 
all  the  mischief  possible  to  this  city."  || 

Sleidan,  a  Protestant  historian  of  the  time,  not  only  as- 
serts that  Luther  was  very  immoral,  but  that  he  often  ac- 
knowledged it.  Melancthon  asserts  "  that  he  (Luther)  was 
so  well  aware  of  his  immorality,  that  he  wished  they  would 
remove  him'  from  the  office  of  preaching."  ^  Maimbourg 
declares  that  he  was  often  intoxicated  at  banquets,  and  on 
one  occasion  of  this  kind  thus  addressed  his  friends :  "  My 
dear  friends,  we  cannot  die  till  we  have  caught  hold  of  Luci- 
fer by  the  tail.  I  saw  his  back  yesterday  fron^i  the  castle 
turrets."  **  Alluding  to  his  seduction  and  marriage  of  the 
nun   Catherine  Bore,  Luther  remarked   soon  after  the  per- 

*  "  Table-Talk,"  p.  124,  Ed.  Eiselbeu. 

f  Ibid.,  E.  Franlv,  part  ii.,  fol.  20.  t  Ibid.,  p.  213. 

§  Epis.  ad.  Nic'b.  Ilauseman,  April  20,  1520. 

II  *'  Tablc-Talk,"  p.  376.  f  Sleidan,  b.  ii.,  An.  1520. 

**  Leckendorf,  lib.  iii. 


292  CHPJSTIAOTTY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

formance  of  the  ceremony,  "that  he  had  made  himself  so  vile 
and  contemjDtible  by  these  nuptials,  that  he  liopes  all  the 
angels  will  laugh,  and  all  the  demons  weep."  *  For  many 
years  Luther  was  in  the  habit  of  passing  his  evenings  at  the 
"  Black  Eagle  Tavern "  of  Wittenberg,  and  of  indulging 
largely,  often  intemperately,  in  malt  liquors  and  otlier  po- 
tations. Many  of  his  blasphemous  sentiments  were  uttered 
wdiile  under  the  influence  of  these  stimulants. 

ISTot  only  Luther,  but  his  friends  and  disciples  Melanc- 
thon  and  Bucer,  openly  sanctioned  polygamy,  as  may  be 
seen  in  the  written  permission  which  they  gave  Philip,  the 
Landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  marry  a  second  wife  while  tlie  first 
one  Avas  liv  in  (/and  undivorced.  Karlstadt  w^ent  still  further, 
and  desired  to  make  polygamy  mi  obligatory  duty, 

Luther  v/as  also  both  intolerant  and  cruel,  as  his  ferocious 
persecutions  of  the  Anabaptists  and  other  innovating  oppo- 
nents bear  v/itness.  In  1536,  at  the  Lutheran  Synod  of 
Romberg,  Luther,  Melancthon,  and  other  prominent  innova- 
tors, voted  in  favor  of  putting  to  death  every  Anabaptist 
who  persisted  in  his  doctrines,  or  who  should  return  again 
after  banishment.  Li  a  future  chapter  we  shall  see  that 
their  Puritan  disciples  w^ho  came  to  America  in  the  May- 
flower, enacted  similar  laws,  and  inflicted  the  same  penalties 
on  the  Quakers  and  Baptists  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1659. 
At  this  synod  the  following  decree  was  enacted,  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Luther  and  his  friends :  "  Whoever  rejects  infant 
baptism,  or  transgresses  the  orders  of  the  magistrates,  or 
preaches  against  taxes,  or  teaches  the  community  of  goods, 
or  usurj^s  the  priesthood,  or  holds  unlawful  assemblies,  or 
sins  against  faith,  shall  he  punished  loith  death  ...  As  for 
the  simple  people  who  have  not  preached,  or  administered 
baptism,  but  who  were  seduced  to  permit  themselves  to  fre- 
quent the  assemblies  of  the  heretics,  if  they  do  not  wish  to 
renounce  anabaptism,  they  shall  be  scourged,  punished  v\^ith 
perpetual  exile,  and  even  with  death^  if  they  return  three 
times  to  the  j^lace  whence  they  have  been  expelled."  \     Any 

*  Epist.  Spalatino.  f  Catron,  p.  224,  and  Audin,  p.  404. 


TEAITS    OF    A   FEW   OF   THE   PEOMINENT   INNOVATOKS.       293 

one  wlio  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  "  Colonial 
Records  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  will  observe  that  the  Puri- 
tans adopted  these  atrocious  decrees  almost  verhathn  in  their 
sanguinary  persecutions  of  opposing  sectaries.  Further  on 
we  shall  enter  into  details  upon  this  subject. 

In  writing  to  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  respecting  another 
innovator,  Luther  says  :  "  Drive  him  away  as  an  apostle  of 
hell ;  and  if  he  does  not  flee,  deliver  him  up  as  a  seditious 
man  to  the  executioner."  * 

Among  the  scandalous  acts  of  Luther  was  his  seduction 
and  marriage  of  Catherine  de  Bore,  a  nun  of  great  beauty. 
At  the  age  of  forty-five,  in  the  year  1525,  he  espoused  the 
victim  of  his  guilty  passion.  These  acts  of  the  self-styled 
Reformer  were  deeply  deplored  by  Melancthon,  and  a  major- 
ity of  his  more  respectable  friends,  as  licentious  and  disgrace- 
ful.    They  also  diminished  his  influence  greatly. 

"  As  to  whether  we  may  have  several  wives,"  says  Lu- 
ther, "the  authority  of  the  patriarchs  leaves  us  perfectly  free. 
It  is  a  thing  neither  permitted  nor  prohibited,  and  I  decide 
nothing  thereupon." 

Alludino;  to  these  loose  sentiments  of  Luther,  Balmes 
very  pertinently  inquires:  "What  would  now  be  the  con- 
dition of  Europe,  what  respect  would  women  now  enjo}^,  if 
Luther,  the  founder  of  Protestantism,  had  succeeded  in  in- 
spiring society  with  the  indiflerence  which  he  shows  on  this 
point  in  his  Commentary  on  Genesis  ?  .  .  .  .  European  nations 
owe  eternal  gratitude  to  Catholicity,  which  has  preserved 
monogamy  for  them,  one  of  the  causes  which  undoubtedly 
have  contributed  the  most  to  the  good  organization  of  the 
family,  and  the  exaltation  of  woman."  f 

During  his  violent  quarrel  with  Erasmus,  his  arrogance 
and  vindictive  malice  were  so  great,  that  Melancthon  was 
impelled  to  exclaim :  "  Would  to  God  that  Luther  would 
keep  silent !  I  had  hoped  that  age  would  have  rendered  him 
more  mild  ;  but  I  see  that  he  becomes  more  and  more  violent 

*  Luth.,  Comment,  in  Psal.  Ixxi.,  opp.  Jen.,  torn,  v.,  p.  MY,  apud  Audio. 
f  "Protestantism  and  Catholicism  Compared,"  p.  188. 


294  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONELICTS. 

every  day  as  he  is  pressed  by  his  adversaries,  and  by  the  dis- 
putes in  which  he  involves  hhnself.  ....  These  things  tor- 
ment me,  and  if  God  does  not  interpose,  the  end  of  these  dis- 
putes will  be  disastrous."  Erasmus  also  "  regretted  that  in 
his  old  age,  he  was  obliged,  in  contending  with  Luther,  to 
contend  with  a  wild  beast  and  a  furious  wolf."  Melancthon 
declares  that  he  was  occasionally  'beaten  by  Luther  during 
his  ungovernable  outbursts  of  passion.  "  I  tremble,"  says 
Melancthon,  "  when  I  think  of  the  passions  of  Luther ;  they 
yield  not  in  violence  to  the  passions  of  Hercules."  * 

About  the  year  1532  Luther  published  his  book  against 
j^rivate  masses.  In  this  book  he  declares  that  he  had  had 
several  conferences  with  the  devil ;  and  that  the  subject  of 
private  masses  was  a  special  topic  of  discussion.  Up  to  this 
period  he  informs  us  that  he  had  been  a  firm  believer  in  these 
masses,  and  had  devoutly  said  them  during  his  life.  But 
the  arguments  of  the  j)rince  of  darkness  changed  his  views, 
and  he  renounced  his  former  opinions  as  useless  and  wicked, 
and  incorporated  this  additional  article  of  Protestantism  in 
his  new  religion.  When  the  devil  appeared  to  him,  he  states 
that  he  was  much  frightened  at  his  tremendous  voice,  his 
imperious  manner,  and  his  forcible  arguments.  His  heart 
beat  violently,  he  trembled,  he  perspired,  but  nevertheless 
held  a  respectable  argument  with  his  diabolical  opponent. 
From  this  exj)erience  Luther  expresses  the  opinion  that  the 
devil  often  appears  to  holy  men  toward  morning,  and  stran- 
gles them  to  death  by  his  tremendous  voice  and  still  more 
tremendous  arguments.  He  attributes  the  sudden  deaths  of 
G5colarapadius  and  Emser  to  this  cause.  Is  it  not  probable 
that  all  Luther's  inspirations  may  have  been  derived  from 
the  same  source  ? 

As  he  advanced  toward  the  end  of  his  career,  Luther's 
mental  perversions  became  still  more  strongly  marked.  In 
his  writino-s  asrainst  the  doctors  of  Louvain,  and  other 
opponents,  as  well  as  against  his  fellow-reformers,  he  rails 
like  a  lunatic,  writes  the  most  indecent  calumnies  and  blas- 

*  Melauc.  Epis.  ad  Thcs. 


TEAITS    OF   A    FEW    OF   THE   PEOMINENT   INNOVATORS.       295 

phciuies,  plays  tlie  vulgar  buffoon,  and  calls  his  adversaries 
by  every  vile  name  which  can  be  found  in  the  vocabulary  of 
Billingsgate.  On  the  18th  of  February,  a.  d.  1546,  Luther 
died. 

On  strictly  medical  grounds,  we  claim  that,  up  to  the 
year  1517,  the  mind  of  Luther  was  healthy  and  sound,  and 
that  there  was  nothing  morbid  or  irrational  in  his  intellectual 
manifestations.  It  is  conceded  that  he  possessed  a  highly 
nervous  and  sanguine  temj^erament,  and  an  organization 
peculiarly  sensitive,  and  therefore  prone  to  become  unduly 
excited  and  disordered.  After  1517  we  claim  that  an  entire 
change  occurred  in  the  condition  of  his  brain  and  of  his 
mental  faculties.  We  claim  that  his  mind  became  perverted 
from  over-excitement,  and  that  a  large  part  of  his  intellectual 
manifestations  were  the  result  of  a  morbidly  excited  brain — a 
condition  which  some  writers  term  moral  insanity^  and  others 
religious  monomania.  As  the  exciting  causes  became  more 
numerous  and  powerful,  the  cerebral  malady  increased,  and 
the  abnormal  mental  phenomena  were  all  gradually  aug- 
mented, until  his  most  trusted  friends,  with  deej)  sorrow, 
regarded  him  as  a  partially  deranged  man.  A  glance  at  the 
writings  of  Melancthon,  Bucer,  Zwinglius,  (Ecolampadius,  and 
Hospinian,  will  fully  corroborate  this  assertion. 

In  order  to  aid  the  reader  in  forming  a  just  oj^inion 
respecting  the  changed  mental  condition  of  Luther,  during 
his  innovating  career,  we  present  here,  the  following  excel- 
lent definition  of  insanity  by  an  eminent  medical  Avriter,  Dr. 
Winslow,  and  also  the  more  common  causes  of  mental 
derangement.  Pinel,  Connolly,  Esquirol,  Prichard,  Brigham, 
and  other  standard  writers  on  insanity,  have  given  us  similar 
definitions  and  similar  tests.  According  to  Dr.  Winslov*^, 
"  the  test  of  insanity  in  all  cases  should  be  the  comparison  of 
the  mind  of  tlie  alleged  lunatic,  at  the  period  of  suspected 
insanity,  with  its  prior,  natural,  and  healthy  manifesta- 
tions." '^''  And  among  the  most  common  causes  of  insanity, 
accordmg  to  all  eminent  writers  upon  the  subject,  are  vio- 

*  Lettsouian  Lecture,  1855. 


296  CHEISTIANITY   iLND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

lent  emotions  ;  religious  entlnisiasm ;  disappointed  ambition  ; 
a  vivid  and  unrestrained  imagination  ;  exclusive  and  protract- 
ed tbought  uj^on  a  single  subject ;  over-exertion  of  tbe  intel- 
lectual powers ;  mental  trouble,  perplexity,  and  doubt. 

If  we  compare  Luther's  mental  condition  prior  to  1517, 
with  what  it  became  subsequently,  the  conclusion  will  be 
irresis*tible  that  he  was  a  victim  of  religious  monomania. 
Wliile  he  was  tranquilly  pursuing  his  studies  as  a  youth,  and 
during  tlie  eleven  years  that  he  devotedly,  and  without  am- 
bition, envy,  or  malice,  fulfilled  his  monastic  duties,  he  had 
no  mental  hallucinations,  no  conferences  vfith  Satan,  he  saw 
no  spectres  or  fantastic  ogres  in  human  shape  flitting  before 
his  brain,  he  was  subject  to  no  frenzied  paroxysms  of  rage  and 
ferocity,  he  never  dreamed  of  blaspheming  his  Maker,  or  of 
corrupting  the  Sacred  Writings,  or  of  defying  the  authority 
of  the  Church,  or  of  setting  up  a  new  human  creed  and  a  new 
man- worshipping  religion  ;  but  he  was  reasonable,  moderate, 
temperate,  devout,  truthful  and  faithful  in  all  things.  In 
a  word,  he  loas  sane.  His  brain  was  healthy,  and  his  intel- 
lectual faculties  were  normal. 

Now  let  us  compare  this  healthy  state  of  mind — "  these 
natural  and  healthy  mental  manifestations" — with  those  of 
his  subsequent  life,  and  then  apply  to  the  two  groups  of 
phenomena  the  standard  test  of  lunacy  vdiicli  v/e  have  cited. 

From  an  amiable,  temperate,  chaste,  and  devout  man,  he 
became  violent,  ferocious,  intemperate,  licentious,  blas2)he- 
mous,  and  sanguinary.  From  a  firm,  unwavering,  and  happy 
believer  in  the  truths  of  the  Church,  he  became  a  victim  of 
innumerable  doubts,  changes,  perplexities,  and  fierce  tor- 
ments. From  a  condition  of  mental  tranquillity  and  intellect- 
ual equilibrium,  he  lapsed  into  a  state  of  maniacal  excite- 
ment, with  a  very  great  perversion  of  all  his  intellectual 
powers  and  manifestations.  As  an  innovator  he  habitually 
saw  spectres,  men  with  tails,  horns,  claws,  features  of  ani- 
mals, and  v/as  pursued  and  tormented  by  these  morbid 
fantasies.  A  volume  of  these  abnormal  mental  manifesta- 
tions might  be  cited  in  suj^port  of  our  position,  but  we  have 


TKAIT3    OF    A    FEW   OF   THE.  TEOMINENT   INNOVATORS.       297 

presented  a  sufficient  number  to  enable  the  impartial  reader 
to  form  a  just  conclusion  respecting  Luther's  sanity  or 
insanity. 

In  this  nineteenth  century,  if  a  man  advances  opinions 
which  are  eccentric,  erratic,  outre,  and  subversive  of  fxcts 
and  doctrines  which  are  universally  accepted,  he  is  arraigned 
before  the  bar  of  public  opinion,  and  his  innovations  and  acts 
are  subjected  to  the  tests  of  reason,  science,  and  logic.  Novel 
ideas,  vehement  declamation,  or  the  bitterest  invective,  arc 
not  regarded  as  truth,  argument,  or  sound  philosophy ;  but 
stern  facts  and  demonstrated  truths  are  tlie  only  admitted 
witnesses  in  the  intellectual  courts  of  this  practical  century. 
Should  a  modeni  Luther  appear,  with  his  individual  inno- 
vations against  any  of  the  established  theories  of  the  day, 
and  claim  that,  through  certain  interviews  and  consultations 
w^ith  the  Prince  of  Darkness,  he  had  ascertained  that  the 
world  was  all  wrong,  and  that  he  had  come  to  set  it  right, 
and  to  present  new  articles  of  belief,  the  practical  men  of 
this  day  would  undoubtedly  shut  him  up  in  Bloomingdale, 
or  in  some  similar  institution,  for  medical  and  moral  treat- 
ment. Such  a  man  would  indeed  have  some  followers — for 
there  is  no  hypothesis,  however  absurd,  if  it  is  novel,  and 
panders  to  passion  and  interest,  which  wdll  not  attract  dis- 
ciples— but  its  author  would  either  be  consigned  to  a  mad- 
house, or  public  opinion  w^ould  ridicule  him  into  a  speedy 
oblivion. 

If  it  be  urged  as  an  argument  in  favor  of  Luther's  sanity 
during  his  innovating  career,  that  he  often  displayed  great 
intellectual  powers  and  great  eloquence,  we  respond  that 
such  displays  arc  not  at  all  uncommon  in  confirmed  luna- 
tics. In  real  insanity  we  often  see  displays  of  astonishing 
intellectual  efforts  exhibited  in  a  great  many  different  as- 
pects ;  but  w^e  more  frequently  see  these  displays  in  the  ex- 
*  ercise  of  the  imagiyiative  than  in  the  reasoning  faculties. 
The  dramatic  poet  Lee  wrote  the  tragedy  of  lN"ero,  and 
several  other  plays,  in  the  Bethlehem  hospital  for  lunatics; 
and  was,  at  times,  excited  to  the  fury  of  the  wildest  maniac. 


Q* 


298  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

And  yet  all  his  plays  were  acted  witli  applause  before  the 
same  people  who  were  only  beginnnig  to  appreciate  Shake- 
speare. Christopher  Smart  wrote  his  verses  on  the  walls  of 
his  cell.  Numerous  examples  of  a  similar  character  might 
be  cited,  and  almost  every  insane  hospital  will  afford  one  or 
more  instances  in  point. 

Luther  was  the  originator  and  the  master-spirit  of  the 
Reformation,  the  father  of  modern  Protestantism,  the  author 
of  the  modern  innovations  against  the  ancient  Church,  and 
the  centre  around  which  vast  numbers  of  restless,  worldly, 
and  visionary  men  rallied  in  opposition  to  a  religion  and  a 
Church  which  had  been  founded  by  Christ,  and  perpetuated 
from  generation  to  generation  up  to  his  day.  The  hos- 
tility of  these  adversaries  amounted  almost  to  frenzy :  each 
follower  seemed  to  imbibe  some  portion  of  the  sj)irit  and  the 
reckless  extravagance  of  their  insane  master ;  the  poison  of 
mad  fanaticism  seemed  to  contaminate  the  entire  sect,  en- 
gendering hatred,  thirst  for  vengeance  and  blood,  and  a  kind 
of  epidemic  religious  monomania.  The  absurdity  and  wick- 
edness of  Luther's  innovations  will  be  readily  appreciated 
when  we  remember  his  continual,  abrupt,  and  radical  changes 
of  opinion,  and  that  nearly  all  his  first  innovations  perished 
before  his  own  death !  His  original  articles  of  faith  and  his 
original  creed,  which  enticed  so  many  deluded  followers 
from  the  ancient  faith,  are  now  among  the  things  of  the 
past;  though  their  sad  fruits  may  still  be  observed  in  the 
innumerable  conflicting  sects,  in  the  religious  distractions 
and  hatreds,  in  the  wide-spread  infidelity,  and  in  the  bloody 
religious  wars  which  have  decimated  and  cursed  the  world 
during  the  past  three  hundred  years. 

We  have  already  seen  that  envy  was  the  primary  ex- 
citing cause  of  Luther's  defection  from  the  Church.  This 
evil  emotion  developed  anger,  and  called  forth,  in  the  first 
instance,  words  of  denunciation  against  a  rival  Dominican 
brother.  When  the  attacked  party  retorted,  new  germs  of 
evil  sprang  up  within  his  breast — liatred,  resentment,  pride, 
ambition,  love  of  notoriety.     Gradually  tlicse  evil  passions 


TEAITS    OF   A    FEW    OF   THE   PROMINENT   ESTNOVATOKS.       299 

led  him  on,  at  times  dominating  over  him  absolutely,  again 
struggling  with  him,  until  almost  overcome  by  his  better 
nature,  his  conscientious  convictions,  his  positive  knowledge 
of  the  truth.  These  violent  emotions,  these  conflicting  pas- 
sions, the  encouragement  and  applause  of  wicked  men,  and 
the  glittering  and  carnal  temptations  of  the  world,  were  too 
much  for  the  inflammable  nature  of  the  poor  monk,  and  fiends 
revelled  where  angels  once  had  dwelt.  Unfortunate  gentle- 
man !  Victim  of  a  terrible  mental  affliction,  the  manifesta- 
tions of  which  j^andered  to  the  vilest  passions  of  his  fellow- 
creatures,  and  inculcated  the  lawfulness  of  opinions  and  prac- 
tices in  direct  opposition  to  the  teachings  of  Christ,  His  apos- 
tles, and  the  Church.  The  corrupt  and  licentious  men  of 
Germany,  and  of  other  countries,  eagerly  adopted  the  ac- 
commodating views  and  religion  of  this  unfortunate  lunatic, 
because  it  aflbrded  them  a  pretext  to  continue  in  their  sinful 
ways.  Melancthon  truly  remarked  to  his  poor  mother,  when 
on  her  death-bed,  "that  the  new  religion  was  a  convenient 
one,  if  not  a  secure  one." 

Had  the  Wittenberg  of  Luther's  day  been  blessed  with 
one  of  those  beneficent  sanitary  institutions  which  may  now 
be  found  in  all  parts  of  Europe  and  North  America,  the  de- 
rano-ed  mind  of  the  afflicted  monk  mis-ht  have  been  restored 
to  its  original  sanity,  and  the  world  have  been  rescued  from 
the  schisms,  the  religious  contentions,  the  distractions,  enmi- 
ties, wars,  and  divisions  which  now  scandalize  the  Christian 
name.  Could  this  poor,  brain-stricken,  and  originally  pious 
and  humble  Christian,  have  been  placed  under  the  wholesome 
restraints  and  the  moral  and  medical  treatment  of  a  first- 
class  insane  hospital,  at  the  outset  of  his  malady,  in  all 
human  probability  he  would  have  recovered,  and  again 
graced  the  Augustinian  monastery  as  a  humble,  moral, 
chaste,  temperate,  devout,  and  scrupulous  monk. 

Nearly  every  one  of  the  prominent  contemporary  Re- 
formers, including  Bucer,  Melancthon,  Calvin,  Capiton,  and 
Mycon,  acknowledged  these  evil  traits  of  Luther,  and  depre- 
cated the  sad  results  which  they  foresaw  must  spring  from 


300  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

them.  These  more  cautious  innovators  attempted  to  arrest, 
or,  at  least  to  modify  the  insane  extravagances  of  their 
leader,  but  in  vain.  Referring  to  these  extravagances  and 
their  results,  Mycon  truly  observed,  "  that  princes  now  order 
the  mode  of  communion,  and  magistrates  have  converted 
themselves  into  popes."  Melancthon  eventually  became  so 
disgusted  with  the  ravings  and  the  dictatorial  tyrannies  of 
Luther,  that,  on  one  occasion,  at  Munster,  he  declared, "  that 
there  were  two  popes,  one  of  them  at  Rome,  and  the  other 
one  Luther,  and  that  the  latter  was  the  worst  of  the  two." 
Zwinglius,  Calvin,  and  others  often  designated  him  as  "the 
new  pope." 

I\Ielancthon. 

Melancthon  was  naturally  truthful,  pious,  sincere,  and 
earnestly  desirous  of  doing  his  whole  duty  to  his  God  and  to 
his  fellow-men ;  but  he  was  ardent,  enthusiastic,  credulous, 
and  easily  influenced  by  eloquence,  novel  sophistries,  and  by 
his  personal  associations  and  friendships.  Having  heard 
Luther  in  his  heyday  of  popularity  and  power,  having  lis- 
tened to  his  vehement,  but  eloquent  harangues,  his  oracular 
denunciations  of  Catholicism,  and  his  equally  oracular 
announcement  of  his  innovating  theological  hypotheses,  he 
was  attracted  and  fascinated  by  them,  and  finally  became  an 
unwilling  victim  during  his  whole  life,  to  these  sad  allure- 
ments and  devices  of  the  Prince  of  Evil.  Often  when  the 
mad  ravings,  the  vulgar  revilings,  and  the  impious  and 
obscene  vituperations  of  Luther  against  all  who  02:)posed  his 
despotic  will,  threatened  to  consign  their  author  to  the  con- 
straints of  a  prison,  the  gentle  Melancthon  trembled  with 
doubts  and  apprehensions  as  ,to  the  source  of  these  furious 
and  vindictive  sentiments.  And  often,  during  these  trying 
scenes,  did  his  soul  rcA^ert  to  that  blessed  relio-ion  of  his  child- 
hood,  for  consolation  and  hope.  Amid  tlie  frenzied  rhap- 
sodies and  the  bitter  and  calumnious  I'ailings  of  the  eloquent 
protester  against  a  religion  which  had  been  the  only  true 
light  of  the  world  for  more  than  fifteen  centuries,  did  the 


TEAITS  OF  A  FEW  OF  THE  PROMINENT  INNOVATORS.   301 

candid  spirit  of  Melancthon  often  reilcct  that  the  devil  was 
one  of  Lntlier's  promi:)ters  and  counsellors.  In  Lis  letters  to 
his  intimate  friend,  Camerarius,  he  gave  expression  to  these 
doubts  and  fears ;  but  the  explanations  and  apologies  of  par- 
tisan friends  prevailed  in  the  end,  and  kept  him  until  death 
within  the  confines  of  Protestantism,  but  always  doubting, 
wavering,  and  trembling,  at  the  terrible  responsibility  lie 
liad  assumed.  Amonc^  those  who  aided  in  sustainino:  him  in 
the  delusions  of  Luther  was  Erasmus,  who  declared  that  the 
world  had  become  so  obstinate  and  hardened  in  its  opinions, 
that  a  rude,  dictatorial,  and  crazy  mind  like  that  of  Luther, 
was  necessary,  in  order  to  revolutionize  the  religious  opinions 
of  men.  What  an  admission  respecting  the  universality  and 
firmness  of  the  religious  fliith  of  the  period !  "What  a  com- 
mentary on  an  innovation  which  was  destined  to  divide  and 
distract  tJie  Church,  disturb  its  unity,  and  fill  the  world  with 
schismatics,  rationalists,  and  atheists  ! 

Melancthon  believed  in  dreams,  visions,  astrology,  pro- 
phecies, and  that  all  unusual  terrestrial  and  celestial  phe- 
nomena were  solemn  warnins-s  from  Heaven  of  comins:  events, 
and  regulated  his  life  in  accordance  with  this  fantastic 
hypothesis.  He  often  cautioned  his  friends,  Camerarius 
and  Osiandcr,  to  give  heed  to  these  wonderful  phenomena 
which  were  constantly  occurring.  The  birth  of  a  calf  with 
two  heads,  or  other  lusits  naturce,  or  the  overflow  of  the 
Tiber,  in  his  estimation,  were  important  occurrences,  and 
poilended  great  changes  in  the  world,  especially  the  down- 
fall of  popeiy  and  the  destruction  of  Rome.  He  was  in  the 
habit  also  of  consulting  the  stars  with  reference  to  himself, 
his  family,  and  to  the  progress  of  events,  and  shaped  his 
conduct  upon  these  astrological  data.  He  also  believed  in 
and  was  influenced  by  the  visions  and  prophecies  of  otlier 
visionaiy  men. 

During  his  last  years,  Melancthon  suffered  continually 
from  his  own  doubts,  and  from  the  clashing  and  ever-chan- 
ging opinions  of  the  self-styled  Reformers.  Each  one  had  his 
own  peculiar  views  upon  the  various  doctrinal  points,  each 


302  CilElSTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

one  clifFered  from  tlie  other,  so  tliat  every  thing  like  unity, 
harmony,  and  stability  of  sentiment,  was  out  of  the  question. 
Suffering  from  the  terrors  and  apprehensions  which  such  a 
mental  condition  of  necessity  produced,  Melaucthon  died  in 
1560. 

If  Melaucthon  had  lived  at  this  day,  he  would  have  been 
a  Spiritualist,  a  holder  of  ghostly  "  circles,"  an  abetter  and 
defender  of  "  mediums,"  and  an  habitual  communicator  and 
converser  with  departed  spirits.  He  would  have  been  a 
formidable  rival  of  Andrew  Jackson  Davis  in  his  reformatory 
enterprises. 

At  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  held  in  1530,  several  innova- 
tors presented  for  acceptance  their  own  private  articles  of 
faith.  Among  them  were  Bucer,  Melaucthon,  and  Zwinglius. 
Each  confession  of  faith  comprised  the  private  views  of  its 
author;  each  one  was  at  variance  with  the  other;  and  each 
had  its  array  of  zealous  advocates.  A  majority  of  the  diet 
were  in  favor  of  that  of  Melaucthon,  and  it  Avas  accordingly 
adojDted.  This  majority  of  ignorant,  fanatical,  and  materi- 
alistic Teutons,  with  marvellous  penetration,  made  the 
momentous  discovery  that  all  the  great  councils  of  the 
Church,  with  their  thousands  of  the  most  learned,  talented, 
and  holy  men  which  fifteen  centuries  had  produced,  had  all 
been  mistaken  in  their  interpretations  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
that  this  Augsburg  assembly  had  been  brought  into  exist- 
ence to  rearrange  and  reestablish  Christianity !  Men  like 
SS.  Polycarp,  Clement,  and  Ignatius,  who  had  received  their 
instructions  directly  from  the  lips  of  Christ  and  His  inspired 
apostles,  and  the  thousands  of  holy  fathers  who  alone  had 
transmitted  the  Christian  religion  through  the  early  and 
middle  ages  of  the  Christian  era,  were  scoffed  at  and  ignored 
by  this  handful  of  dissenting  Germans  at  Augsburg,  and  a 
new  confession  of  faith,  a  new  religion  by  one  of  their  own 
number,  was  adopted ! 

Melaucthon  was  not  insane,  but  he  was  a  visionary  enthu- 
siast. He  was  learned,  talented,  amiable,  and  conscientious, 
but  he  was  lacking  in  judgment,  stability,  and  mental  dis- 


TEAITS    OF   A   FEW    OF    THE   PROMINENT   INNOVATORS.       303 

cipline.  He  was  sincere  in  his  religions  convictions,  bnt 
constitntionally  and  morbidly  credulons,  visionary,  and 
erratic.  If  circumstances  had  made  him  a  man  of  business 
instead  of  a  theologian,  his  visionary  tendencies,  his  credulity^ 
his  love  of  novelty  and  change,  his  speculative  turn,  and  his 
general  instability  would  liave  involved  himself  and  his 
business  connections  in  certain  financial  ruin.  As  a  states- 
man his  peculiar  qualities  would  have  plunged  his  adminis- 
tration and  his  country  into  innumerable  embarrassments  and 
disasters.  As  a  theologian  and  an  innovator,  he  Avas  always 
wavering,  and  changeable,  but  readily  controlled,  for  good  or 
evil,  by  those  around  him.  In  whatever  position  he  might 
liave  been  j^laced,  he  would  have  been  regarded  as  an  amia- 
ble and  genial  man,  but  he  never  could  have  inspired  con- 
fidence in  his  judgment,  his  competency,  or  his  reliability. 
He  was  true  and  ardent  in  his  attachments,  and  was  inclined 
to  sympathize  deeply,  and  to  assimilate  closely  with  his 
trusted  friends  in  all  things  moral,  intellectual,  religious,  and 
personal.  His  heart  was  open,  generous,  and  confiding,  and 
thus  he  became  a  victim  to  the  strong  will  of  the  insane 
Luther. 

Calvin. 

John  Calvin  w^as  born  in  Noyon,  France,  a.  d.  1509,  and 
died  at  Geneva,  in  Switzerland,  in  1564.  With  many  other 
Frencli  refugees,  he  sought  a  home  in  Geneva  shortly  after 
Farel  and  Froment  had  introduced  their  new  innovations. 
Judging  from  the  accounts  of  contemporary  historians,  Cal- 
vin must  have  been  a  perfect  type  of  the  Puritan.  He  was 
of  medium  height,  lean,  sharp-visaged,  cadaverous,  thin- 
lipped  ;  his  eyes  were  bright,  but  restless  and  sinister  in 
their  expression ;  his  head  was  large,  and  indicative  of  un- 
usual intelligence ;  his  countenance  was  cold,  stern,  and  un- 
sympathetic ;  and  his  religious  declamations  were  character- 
ized by  the  canting  nasal  twang  which  is  peculiar  to  all  Pu- 
ritans. Every  lineament  of  liis  sallow  and  angular  counte- 
nance, every  movement  of  his  skeleton  fi-ame,  every  gesture 


304  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

of  his  bony  arms  and  hands,  and  every  word  from  his  thin, 
Wue  lips  left  an  indescribable  and  indelible  impression  upon 
his  auditors.  He  was  learned,  eloquent,  classical,  and  pol- 
ished as  a  writer,  but  human  sympathy,  benevolence,  charity, 
and  the  finer  emotions,  had  no  place  in  his  breast.  He  could 
thank  his  God  with  as  much  indifference  for  damning  the 
predestinated  victims  of  His  causeless  wrath  as  for  saving 
the  elected  favorites  of  His  equally  causeless  mercy.  Like 
the  fatalistic  Mohammedan,  he  regarded  men  as  passive  and 
helpless  victims  of  a  fore-ordained  and  fixed  decree  of  the 
Almighty.  He  was  heartless,  vindictive,  cruel,  and  sangui- 
nary; as  his  unrelenting  persecutions  of  his  controversial 
adversaries,  and  his  execution  of  Servetus  and  Gruet  clearly 
demonstrate.  Another  illustration  of  his  sanguinary  and 
cruel  disposition  may  be  found  in  the  active  part  he  took  in 
urging  forward  the  bloody  civil  wars  of  the  period.  "  Cal- 
vin," said  Bucer,  "  is  a  true  mad-dog.  The  man  is  wicked, 
and  he  judges  of  people  according  as  he  loves  or  hates  them." 
Baudoin  declared  "  that  he  could  not  endure  Calvin,  because 
he  had  found  him  too  thirsty  for  vengeance  and  blood."  In 
a  letter  to  his  friend,  the  Marquis  du  Poet,  respecting  the 
Anabaptists  and  other  new  sectaries,  Calvin  declares  "  that 
such  monsters  ought  to  be  suffocated,  after  the  manner  of 
Servetus  and  Graet." 

Calvin  taught  that  the  children  of  the  faithful  are  born 
in  grace  and  alliance  with  God,  and  that  they  must  be  saved, 
with  or  without  baptism,  with  or  without  good  acts.  He 
taught  that  whoever  has  received  the  Holy  Spirit  once  is 
fully  justified,  and  can  never  lose  it,  or  fall  from  grace.  Once 
the  recipient  of  grace,  the  predestinated  mortal  must  of  ne- 
cessity be  saved,  though  all  the  imps  of  darkness  afterward 
possess  him  and  govern  him  through  life.  Pie  was,  however, 
continually  changing  his  arbitrary  dogmas.  He  had  one 
confession  of  faith  for  Switzerland,  another  for  Germany, 
and  a  still  different  one  for  France.  In  almost  every  succes- 
sive communication  he  expresses  dissatisfaction  with  the 
views  he  had  previously  advanced,  and  continually  suggested 


TEAITS    OF    A    FEW    OF   THE    PKOMINENT   ENNOVATOES.       305 

alterations  and  modifications.  Ambitious,  vain,  boastful, 
and  imperious,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  alter  and  adapt  his 
doctrines  to  the  i^-eculiarities  and  prejudices  of  the  various 
nations  of  Europe.  His  main  object  was  to  secure  j^rosc- 
lytes,  and  to  extend  his  own  reputation,  not  to  serve  his  God 
and  his  fellow-men.  His  invectives  were  directed  not  only 
against  Catholics,  but  against  all  who  presumed  to  differ 
with  him.  Even  Luther  and  Zwinglius  did  not  escape  his 
bitter  taunts  and  irony. 

Were  an  impartial  biographer  to  sum  up  the  characteris- 
tic traits  of  the  three  prominent  innovators  of  the  sixteenth 
century,*  Luther,  Mclancthon,  and  Calvin,  he  would  present 
to  us  three  widely  different  characters.  In  Luther  he  would 
2:)ortray  a  man  of  fine  native  talents,  and  of  good  natural  in- 
stincts, feelings,  and  tendencies,  a  fair  scholar,  but  of  strong 
passions,  great  ambition,  and  love  of  admiration,  and  a  brain 
and  nervous  system  in  the  highest  degree  excitable  and  sen- 
sitive. He  would  trace  his  modest  and  blameless  career  as 
a  monk  of  the  convent  of  Erfurth,  and  commend  him  for  his 
unaffected  piety  and  devotion  to  his  duties.  He  would  fol- 
low him  to  his  new  and  strange  arena  of  controversy  and 
strife,  analyze  his  ferocious  and  obscene  tirades  against  friend 
and  foe,  hold  him  up  to  the  gaze  of  the  world  as  an  habitual 
believer  in  and  seer  of  fantastic  visions,  spectres,  and  fiends, 
a  debater  Avith  Satan,  as  well  as  with  mundane  adversaries, 
a  breaker  of  solemn  vows,  a  wine-bibber,  a  vindictive  and 
unscrupulous  opponent,  and  an  inciter  of  civil  wars  and 
bloodshed.  A  candid  biographer  of  this  era  would  deplore 
the  manifest  transformation  whicJi  occurred  in  Luther's 
mind,  and  express  sympathy  for  the  unfi^rtuuatc  lunatic  and 
his  relatives  and  friends.  As  a  reliable  relator  of  fixcts,  he 
would  be  compelled  to  depict  the  sound  and  healthy  mental 
manifestations  of  Martin  Luther  as  a  happy,  amiable,  and 
peaceful  Augustinian  monk,  and  to  contrast  tlieni  with  tlie 
abnormal  and  perverted  intellectual  and  moral  traits  which 
pertained  to  him  during  the  entire  period  of  his  continually 
varying  innovations. 


306  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

He  would  represent  Melanctlion  as  a  noble,  warm-lieartecl, 
and  pious  Christian,  a  ripe  scliolar,  an  ardent  friend,  but  en- 
thusiastic, credulous,  visionary,  fond  of  novelty,  and  so  con- 
stituted as  to  be  readily  blown  about  by  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine, and  dominated  over  by  wicked  and  designing  men. 

In  Calvin  he  would  present  us  Avith  a  perfect  type  of 
cold-hearted  selfishness,  cruelty,  cunning,  and  canting  hypoc- 
risy. He  would  make  known  to  us  his  thrilling  powers  of 
eloquence,  his  high  classical  attainments,  his  polished  diction, 
and  his  snake-like  fascination  over  his  rapt  audiences.  At 
the  same  time  he  would  tell  us  of  his  terrible  blasphemies 
against  his  Maker,  and  of  his  atrocious  Puritan  doctrines. 
He  would  bring  before  us  a  man  who  had  the  impious  temer- 
ity to  declare  God  the  author  and  creator  of  all  the  sins, 
crimes,  and  calamities  of  the  world,  and  that  men  are  merely 
passive  and  impotent  instruments  in  His  hands.  He  would 
place  before  us  a  heart  of  stone — cold,  unsympathetic,  im- 
passible, Satanic.  He  would  not  depict  Calvin  as  an  in- 
sane man,  but  as  one  consummately  talented,  selfish,  heart- 
less, and  unscrupulous.  He  would  display  to  us  a  perfect 
type  of  the  Furitan.  The  theological  tenets  of  this  man 
have  exercised  a  dominant  influence  over  nearly  all  of  the 
Protestant  sects  of  the  world  down  to  the  present  time. 

Minor  Innovators. 

Many  volumes  would  be  required  to  present  in  detail  the 
personal  traits  and  characteristics  of  the  horde  of  Reformers 
wdio  have  appeared  since  Luther's  day.  Their  name  is  legion, 
and  they  have  deluged  the  world  with  their  novelties,  their 
private  creeds,  and  their  individual  religions.  In  the  forma- 
tion and  establishment  of  these  strange  innovations,  nearly 
all  the  passions  and  emotions  of  the  human  heart  have  been 
evoked,  and  have  exercised  their  influence.  A  very  cursory  ex- 
amination of  the  various  and  conflicting  sects  will  show  that 
the  j)ersonal  idiosyncrasies  and  the  mental  and  moral  pecu- 
liarities of  each  sectarian  creed-coiner  have  been  incorporated 
into  the  sect  which  bears  his  name,  or  which  owes  to  him  its 


TRAITS    OF    A   FEW    OF   THE    PliOMLNENT   INNOVATORS.       307 

paternity.  Some  of  these  iiniovators  have  been  actuated  by 
ambition  and  thirst  for  notoriety,  some  by  self-interest,  some 
by  novelty  and  change,  some  by  hatred  of  rival  sects,  some 
by  lust,  some  by  covetousness,  some  by  religious  fanaticism, 
and  many  by  an  abnormal  condition  of  the  mental  faculties. 
Types  of  all  these  d liferent  classes  may  be  found  even  in  the 
sixteenth  century — in  Zwinglius,  Stork,  Bucer,  Munzer,  John 
of  Leyden,  Mathias  Harlem,  Karlstadt,  Hermann,  David 
George,  Farel,  Froment,  (Ecolampadius,  Knox,  Cranmer,  Hen- 
ry VHL,  and  others.  We  shall  very  briefly  allude  to  a  few  of 
the  creed-mongers  who  were  contemporaneous  with  Luther 
and  Calvin,  and  reserve  our  account  of  the  more  modern  inno- 
vators for  a  future  chapter. 

Among  the  personal  friends  and  abetters  of  Luther  was 
Martin  Bucer.  He  abounded  in  subtleties,  novelties,  and 
doctrinal  contradictions.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Stras- 
buro^  Confession  of  Faith.  He  tausrht  that  Christ  could  not 
be  actually  present  in  the  eucharist  because  He  is  in  heaven 
and  can  only  be  in  one  place  at  a  time.  How  materialistic 
and  mundane  are  these  ideas  of  Bucer  and  the  other  Reform- 
ers !  How  impious  the  assertion  that  the  Omnipotent  and 
Almighty  God  can  only  be  present  in  one  place  at  the  same 
time  !  The  idea  of  limiting  the  capacities  and  powers  of  the 
Infinite  to  mundane  objects — to  time,  space,  or  other  appli- 
ance of  this  material  and  momentary  work  of  His  hands  !  It 
is  througli  the  influence  of  such  sentiments  as  those  of  Bucer 
and  his  contemporary  innovators,  that  materialism  became  de- 
veloped, and  made  such  progress  in  the  sixteenth  and  subse- 
quent centuries.  Wherever  the  doctrines  of  these  men  have 
obtained  a  foothold,  rationalism  with  all  its  Protean  mani- 
festations has  flourished.  WhencA^er  and  wherever  men  have 
attempted  to  compreliend,  circumscribe,  bound,  and  explain 
the  attributes  and  the  omnipotent  powers  of  God,  we  find 
innumerable  sects  founded  on  rationalism,  pantheism,  spirit- 
ualism, and  atheism.  Bucer  was  talented,  but  ambitious, 
fickle,  and  devoted  to  novelties.  In  conjunction  with  Luther 
and  Melancthon,  he  signed  the  document  allowing  Philip  to 


308  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

have  two  wives  at  the  same  time.  Bucer  himself  was  mar- 
ried three  times. 

Karlstadt  ranks  among  the  most  radical  and  reckless  of 
the  innovators  of  Luther's  day.  This  bold  man,  once  a  priest 
of  the  Church,  had  the  temerity  to  overthrow  the  sacred  em- 
blems of  the  churches  of  Wittenberg,  and  to  prevent,  by 
threats  and  violence,  the  celebration  of  mass  and  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  Host.  He  was  one  of  the  first  priests  who  violated 
his  sacred  oath  by  marrying  a  wife.  His  arrogance,  intem- 
perance, licentiousness,  and  blasphemy,  so  disgusted  the 
people  of  "Wittenberg  that  they  expelled  him  from  the  city. 
After  this  he  joined  the  Anabajjtists. 

But  iew  men  were  more  active  in  stirring  up  discontent, 
fraternal  hatred,  and  strife  among  his  countrymen  than 
Zwinglius,  and  but  few  were  as  cruel  and  unrelenting  in  the 
pursuit  of  vengeance.  In  1524,  according  to  Menzel,*  he 
caused  a  number  of  Anabaptists  to  be  taken,  enclosed  in 
sacks,  and  then  cast  into  the  Rhine  to  be  drowned,  while  his 
pious  disciples  looked  on,  and  with  jeers  and  taunts  assured 
them  that  they  were  only  subjecting  them  to  their  own  fa- 
vorite mode  of  immersion.  After  the  Diet  of  Augsburg, 
when  the  Protestants  had  formed  leagues  in  order  to  propa- 
gate their  doctrines,  and  had  resolved  to  resort  to  arms  to 
carry  their  points,  Zwinglius  was  the  leading  spirit  in  tbis 
coercive  policy  from  the  first.  He  not  only  advocated  these 
sanguinary  proceedings  in  his  sermons,  harangues,  and  wri- 
tings, but  he  actually  entered  the  bloody  battle-field  in  deadly 
strife,  urging  on  canton  against  canton,  brother  against 
brother,  until  he  v\^as  killed  sword  in  hand.  Was  such  a  man 
a  follower  and  disciple  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ?  Was  such 
a  man  in  reality  a  Heforyncr? 

In  1516  Zv/inglius  introduced  Protestantism  into  Zurich 
by  force  and  fraud.  Eight  years  afterward  he  forced  his  inno- 
vations upon  the  23eople  of  Berne.  In  1535  he  extended  his 
religious  conquests  to  Geneva.  In  these  revolutionary  and 
sanguinary  acts  he  was  efiiciently  aided  by  the  fanatical  and 

*  Menzel's  "  Hist,  of  Germany,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  233. 


TRAITS    OF    A   FEW   OF   THE    PROMINENT   INNOVATORS.       309 

cruel  Farel.  Througli  the  intrigues  of  tliis  malignant  parti- 
san with  the  people  of  Berne,  they  enrolled  themselves  into 
an  army,  and  led  on  by  Zwinglius  and  Farel,  they  entered 
Geneva  in  1536  and  inculcated  their  innovations  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  Soon  after,  the  same  j^^oiis  army  invaded 
the  canton  of  Vaud,  and  beat  their  religion  into  many  of  the 
230or  jieople  of  this  canton.  The  notorious  Froment  aided 
and  abetted  Zwinglius  and  Farel  in  these  frightful  outrages. 
The  mad  pranks  of  the  ferocious  Anabaptists  of  Munster 
and  Leyden,  under  the  leadership  of  Mathias  Harlem  and 
John  of  Leyden,  sliocked  all  Europe  for  a  time.  Tliese  men 
were  unquestionably  insane,  as  their  absurd  doctrines  and 
their  actions  all  demonstrate.  The  fact  that  they  were 
able  to  secure  crowds  of  devoted  disciples  and  followers,  and 
retain  them  in  absolute  subjection  for  more  than  sixteen 
months,  proves  that  entire  communities  as  well  as  individ- 
uals, may  become  deranged,  and  that  there  is  such  a  malady 
as  epidemic  communal  insanity.  It  affords  an  additional 
proof  of  the  facility  with  which  pretended  Reformers,  like 
Luther,  Harlem,  and  the  tailor  of  Leyden,  can  procure  con- 
verts and  followers,  and  establish  new  creeds,  new  sects,  and 
new  religions.  These  Munster  and  Leyden  Reformers  inaugu- 
rated their  pious  reformations  by  sacking  Catholic  churches, 
destroying  their  ornaments  and  books,  seizing  upon  the  prop- 
erty of  the  inhabitants  for  a  common  fund,  and  by  attempt- 
ing with  a  handful  of  men  to  exterminate  with  the  sword 
those  who  were  so  presumptuous  as  to  oppose  them.  The  tailor 
of  Leyden  "  ra7i  nalied  through  the  streets  of  Itfunster,''^  cry- 
ing, "  Behold,  the  King  of  Sion  coines  I  "  This  poor  lunatic 
declared  to  his  infatuated  dupes  that  the  Lord  had  decreed 
that  he  should  be  crowned  King  of  Sion  ;  and  on  the  24th 
of  June,  1534,  he  was  actually  proclaimed  king,  and  solemnly 
crowned  in  the  market-place,  amidst  the  fanatical  rejoicings 
of  a  large  crowd  of  partisans  and  followers.  He  made  his 
wife  queen,  but  reserved  to  himself  the  holy  and  patriarchal 
right  of  having  seventeen  additional  wives.  He  did  not  limit 
his  polygamous  views  to  two  wives,  as  did  Philip  of  Hesse, 


310  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

under  permission  of  his  spiritual  advisers,  Luther,  Melanc- 
thon,  and  Bucer,  but  he  adopted  literally  tlie  theory  and 
practice  of  the  ancient  patriarchs.  This  very  progressive 
Reformer  reigned  for  more  than  sixteen  months,  during  which 
the  most  atrocious  crimes  of  every  description  were  perpe- 
trated under  the  direction  of  himself  and  his  converts.  The 
ruling  ideas  of  this  man  were  to  slay  all  those  who  opposed 
him,  and  to  establish  himself  and  his  creed  over  all  the  world. 
No  man  of  the  present  day  will  deny  that  John  of  Leyden 
was  insane.  All  admit  the  vast  influence  which  this  danger- 
ous lunatic  acquired  and  held  for  sixteen  months,  over  great 
numbers  of  the  people  of  Munster,  Leyden,  and  the  surround- 
ing country.  Do  not  these  astounding  facts  demonstrate 
the  dangerous  character  and.  tendencies  of  the  innovations 
of  the  period,  as  well  as  the  inflammable  and  unreliable  nature 
of  the  material  upon  which  the  Reformers  acted? 

David  George  declared  himself  the  true  son  of  God,  that 
his  doctrines  alone  were  perfect,  and  that  the  Old  and  N"ew 
Testaments  were  wrong.  At  this  day,  a  man  possessed  of 
such  ideas  would  be  confined  in  a  mad-house  as  an  irrespon- 
sible lunatic.  Yet  the  pretensions  of  this  Reformer  were  but 
little  more  extravagant  than  those  of  Luther ;  and  if  David 
denied  the  authenticity  of  all  the  Sacred  Writings,  his  contem- 
porary innovator,  Martin,  had  already  repudiated  a  portion 
of  them. 

At  about  the  same  jDcriod  there  was  a  counterpart  of 
David  in  London  by  the  name  of  Hackett.  This  person 
claimed  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Messiah  had  descended  upon 
himself,  and  that  he  was  endowed  with  supernatural  j^ow- 
ers.  He  likewise  had  his  converts  and  followers,  who  under 
his  direction  perpetrated  the  most  fanatical  and  sacrilegious 
enormities  in  the  streets  of  London.  Like  Hermann  and  John 
of  Leyden,  he  advocated  the  massacre  of  all  opj^onents,  es- 
pecially all  priests  and  magistrates. 

The  Anabaptist,  Nicholas  Stork,  another  contemporary  of 
Luther,  "  surrounded  himself  with  twelve  apostles  and  sev- 
enty-two disciples,  and  boasted  that  he  received  revelations 


TEAITS   OF   A   FEW   OF   THE    TEOinXENT   INNOVATORS.       311 

from  an  angel."  *  The  following  is  a  specimen  of  one  of  his 
sermons  :  "  Behold  what  I  annomice  to  you.  God  has  sent 
His  angel  to  me  during  the  night,  to  tell  me  that  I  shall  sit 
on  the  same  throne  as  the  archangel  Gabriel.  Let  the  impi- 
ous tremble,  and  the  just  hope.  ...  It  is  to  me.  Stork,  that 
ITeavcn  has  promised  the  empire  of  the  world.  Would  you 
desire  to  be  visited  by  God  ?  Prepare  your  hearts  to  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Let  there  be  no  pulpit  whence  to  announce 
the  w^ord  of  God  :  no  priests,  no  preachers,  no  exterior  w^or- 
ship  :  let  your  dress  be  plain  ;  your  food,  bread  and  salt ;  and 
God  will  descend  upon  you."  f  He  taught  that  it  was  good 
to  commit  sin,  in  order  that  grace  might  abound. 

Another  Anabaptist  preacher,  Munzer,  combined  the  most 
ultra  agrarianism  with  his  religious  innovations. 

Even  Karlstadt,  the  intimate  friend  and  disciple  of  Lu- 
ther, was  afflicted  with  a  kind  of  moral  insanity,  and  any 
medical  expert  wdio  will  take  the  trouble  to  review  his  career, 
w^ill  arrive  at  this  conclusion.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  run- 
ning through  the  streets  of  Wittenberg,  Bible  in  hand,  and 
stoj^ping  the  passers-by  to  inquire  of  them  the  signification 
of  difficult  passages  of  the  Sacred  Book.  He  claimed  that 
this  was  an  obligatory  duty,  because  it  is  written  "  that  the 
voice  of  truth  shall  be  heard  from  the  lips  of  infants."  J 

Similar  instances  of  religious  insanity  and  fanaticism 
have  not  unfrequently  occurred  since  the  days  of  Christ.  A 
notable  example  of  this  kind  occurred  in  the  twelfth  century. 
"At  the  beginning  of  the  tvv^elfth  century,"  says  Balmes, 
"  we  find  the  famous  Tanch^me,  or  Tanquelin,  teaching  the 
maddest  theories  and  committing  the  greatest  crimes;  yet 
at  Antwerp,  in  Zealand,  in  the  country  of  Utrecht,  and  in 
many  other  towns  in  the  same  countries,  he  draws  after  him 
a  numerous  crowd.  This  w^retched  man  maintained  that  he 
was  more  worthy  of  supreme  w^orship  than  Jesus  Christ 
Himself, '  for,'  said  he,  '  if  Jesus  Christ  had  received  the  Holy 
Spirit,    he  (Tancheme)  had  received  the  plenitude  of  that 

*Menzcrs  "Ilist.  of  Germany,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  232,  233.         f  Audin,  p.  230. 

I  Meshoviu?,  p.  4. 


312  cnEiSTiAivnTY  and  its  conflicts. 

Holy  Spirit.'     He  added  that  the  whole  Church  was  confined 
in  his  own  person  and  in  his  disciples.     The  pontilicate,  the 
e23iscopate,  and  the  priesthood,  w^ere,  according  to  him,  mere 
chimeras.     His  instructions  and  discourses  were  particularly 
addressed  to  women ;  the  result  of  his  doctrines  and  pro- 
ceedings was  the  most  revolting  corruption.     Yet  the  fanati- 
cism which  was  excited  by  this  abominable  man,  went  so  far 
that  the  sick  eagerly  drank  the  water  in  which  he  bathed, 
believing  it  to  be  the  most  salutary  remedy  for  body  and 
soul.     Women  thought  themselves  happy  to  have  obtained 
the  favor   of  the  monster ;   mothers  considered  it  an  honor 
for   their   dau^^hters  to  be   selected   as  the  victims   of  his 
profligacy ;  and  husbands  were  offended  when  their  wives 
were  not  stained  with  this  disgrace."  *     On  one  occasion  he 
touched  a  picture  of  the  Virgin,  and  declared  that  he  had  con- 
tracted marriage  with  the  Queen  of  Heaven,  and  he  command- 
ed his  dupes  to  fill  two  boxes  which  he  had  brought,  with 
wedding  presents.     His  hearers  robbed  themselves  of  their 
jewels  and  other  valuables  to  fill  these  boxes.    Finally,  he  sur- 
rounded himself  with  an  armed  troop  of  three  thousand  men, 
and  in  regal  garments  moved  from  place  to  place  with  his 
body-guard,   preaching  his  atrocious  doctrines  and  robbing 
the  people  of  their  honor  and  their  wealth.     This  man  was 
either  a  great  knave  or  a  madman.     In  this  same  century  also 
lived  Eon,  who  asserted  "  that  he  himself  was  the  Judge  of 
the  living  and  the  dead ; "  likewise  Arnaud  of  Brescia,  Bierre 
cle  Bruis,  Henri,  the  Cathari,  Vaudois,  Paterius  of  Arras,  the 
Albigenses,  and  the  poor  men  of  Lyons.     The  fruits  of  these 
different  fanatical  innovations  were  disastrous  in  the  highest 
degree.     Their  presence  was  everywhere  manifested  by  fire,  *• 
i-apine,  and  bloodshed. 

We  have  alluded  to  the  case  of  Tanquelin  as  a  type  of 
thousands  of  similar  instances  which  might  be  adduced  be- 
fore the  sixteenth  century.  We  have  not  space  to  present  in 
detail  the  numerous  innovations  which  were  introduced 
during  the  early  and  middle  ages ;  but  an  examination  of 
*  *'  Catholicism  cand  Protcstiuitism  Compared,"  p.  250. 


TEAITS   OF   A   FEW   OF  THE  PROMINENT   INNOVATOES.      313 

tlicra  will  show  that  the  authors  of  thorn,  as  well  as  the 
causes,  motives,  and  results,  were  similar  to  those  of  the  six- 
teenth century. 

Among  the  innovators  out  of  Germany,  who  contributed 
mateiially  to  sow  dissensions  among  Christians,  and  to  impair 
the  unity  of  the  Church  during  Luther's  day,  were  Henry 
VIII.  and  his  subservient  archbishop  Cranmer.  As  a  king, 
Henry  was  imperious,  arbitrary,  and  dictatorial,  but  earnestly 
solicitous  for  the  welfare  and  glory  of  England.  As  a  man, 
he  was  supremely  selfish,  conceited,  vain,  ambitious,  sensual, 
irate,  and  unscrupulous.  His  doi^inant  characteristic  Avas 
gross  sensuality,  and  he  rendered  every  thing  else  subser- 
vient to  this  passion.  Honor,  principle,  and  conscience  were 
all  trodden  under  foot  when  they  stood  in  the  way  of  his 
sensual  gratifications.  In  his  heart  of  hearts,  Henry  was  a 
thorough  Roman  Catholic ;  and  the  facts  are  conclusive  that 
he  lived  and  died  in  this  faith,  although  holding  it  secretly, 
and  notwithstanding  his  pretended  reformations,  and  his  im- 
pious assumptions  of  supreme  spiritual  powers.  He  doubt- 
less hoped  and  e:qoected  to  bend  the  Roman  pontifi*  to  his 
indomitable  will,  to  force  from  him  a  dispensation  for  a 
divorce  from  his  lawful  wife,  and  to  return  to  the  bosom  of 
the  Church.  But  step  by  step  he  became  more  and  more 
involved  in  the  toils  of  the  evil  one  ;  day  by  day  the  fever  of 
passion  increased,  until,  with  a  seared  conscience  and  a  volcano 
of  unholy  and  raging  desires,  and  pangs  of  remorse  within 
his  breast,  he  V\''as  called  to  the  bar  of  the  King  of  kings,  to 
render  a  final  account  of  the  fearful  responsibilities  he  had 
taken  upon  himself. 

Henry  never  dreamed  of  dissenting  from  or  of  altering 
any  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  until  after  his  lustful  in- 
trigue with  Anne  Boleyn.  He  had  become  weary  of  Catharine 
of  Aragon,  and  his  beautiful  mistress  monopolized  all  of  his 
thoughts,  and  called  into  full  activity  the  burning  fires  with- 
in him.  In  Cranmer,  Thomas  Cromwell,  and  Anne  lierself, 
he.  had  willing  and  not  over-scruj^ulous  auxiliaries.  Each 
one  exercised  a  potent  although  a  different  kind  of  iniluence 
14 


314:  CHEISTIANITY   A^D   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

over  the  susceptible  and  impetuous  monarch,  and  each  one 
was  actuated  by  base  personal  motives.  Ambition,  self-love, 
pride,  resentment,  and  his  dominant  sensual  propensities  were 
all  in  turn  played  upon  by  the  bishop,  the  lawyer,  and  the 
mistress,  and  their  united  efforts  were  successful  in  diverting 
an  impulsive  king  from  his  conscientious  convictions  of 
religious  truth,  and  in  aiding  to  impair  the  unity  of  the 
Church  of  God. 

Had  Pope  Clement  consented  to  Henry's  divorce  with 
Catharine,  or,  if  Anne  Boleyn  had  never  lived,  there  never 
would  have  been  an  Anglican  Church.  Whatever  may  be 
thought  or  said  of  this  Church  as  it  now  exists,  the  fact  is 
none  the  less  true  that  Henry  YHI.  is  its  originator  and 
founder,  that  the  impelling  motives  were  those  which  we 
have  indicated,  that  its  chief  manipulator  and  doctrine-mon- 
ger was  Cranmer,  and  that  its  great  perpetuator  was  Queen 
Elizabeth. 

To  those  Anglicans  who  are  disposed  to  trace  the  origin 
of  their  Church  beyond  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  to  claim 
for  it  antiquity,  an  apostolic  succession,  or  an  historical  past, 
we  beg  to  refer  them  to  the  folio Vvdng  observations  of  one  of 
their  own  most  distinguished  writers  and  historians.  Lord 
Macaulay.  In  these  few  lines  the  writer  condenses  the 
origin  and  the  early  progress  of  the  Anglican  Church,  and 
demonstrates  conclusively  that  it  is  of  human  and  not  of 
divine  origin.  We  quote  :  "  Henry  VIII.  attempted  to  con- 
stitute an  Ansflican  Church  differinof  from  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  on  the  point  of  the  supremacy,  and  on  that  point 
alone.  His  success  in  this  attempt  was  extraordinary.  The 
force  of  his  character,  the  singularly  favorable  situation  in 
v/hich  he  stood  with  respect  to  foreign  powers,  the  immense 
wealth  which  the  spoliation  of  the  abbeys  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal, and  the  support  of  that  class  v/hich  still  halted  be- 
tween two  opinions,  enabled  him  to  bid  defiance  to  both  of 
the  extreme  parties,  to  burn  as  heretics  those  who  avowed 
the  tenets  of  the  Reformers,  and  to  hang  as  traitors  thgse 
who  owned  the  authority  of  the  pope.     But  Henry's  system 


TRAITS    OF   A   FEW   OF   THE   PKOMIN^ENT    INNOVATORS.       315 

died  with  him Nor  could  Elizabeth  venture  to  return 

to  it.  It  was  necessary  to  make  a  choice.  The  government 
must  either  submit  to  Rome,  or  must  obtain  the  aid  of  the 
Protestants.  The  government  and  the  Protestants  had  only- 
one  thing  in  common,  hatred  of  the  papal  power But, 

as  the  government  needed  the  support  of  the  Protestants,  so 
the  Protestants  needed  the  2:)rotection  of  the  government. 
Much  was  therefore  given  up  on  both  sides ;  a  union  was 
effected ;  and  the  fruit  of  that  union  loas  the  Church  of 
JBmjland.  ....  The  man  who  took  the  chief  part  in  settling 
the  conditions  of  the  alliance  which  2^'i'oduced  the  Anglican 
Churchy  was  Thomas  Cranmer Saintly  in  his  profes- 
sions, unscrupulous  in  his  dealings,  zealous  for  nothing,  bold 
in  speculation,  a  coward  and  a  time-server  in  action,  a 
placable  enemy  and  a  lukewarm  friend,  he  w^as  in  every  way 
qualified  to  arrange  the  terms  of  coalition  between  the  reli- 
gious and  the  w^orldly  enemies  of  popery.  To  this  day,  the 
constitution,  the  doctrines,  and  the  services  of  the  Church 
(of  England),  retain  the  visible  marks  of  the  compromise 
from  which  she  sprang."  * 

The  licentious  propensities  of  a  bold  and  unscrupulous 
king,  in  denying  the  papal  supremacy,  and  in  constituting 
himself  supreme  spiritucd  as  well  as  temporal  head  of  his 
dominions,  oriscinated  the  Church  of  Enojland.  Covetousness 
also  had  a  share  in  the  wdcked  innovations,  for,  as  Macaulay 
truly  observes,  "the  immense  wealth  which  the  spoliation  of 
the  abbeys  placed  at  his  disposal,"  enabled  him  to  fill  his 
coffers  with  Catholic  gold. 

Cranmer  was  undoubtedly  Henry's  creed-coiner,  and  the 
master-spirit  of  the  Anglican  Reformation.  Although  he 
w^as  secretly  a  Lutheran,  as  Burnet  and  other  Protestant 
writers  testify,  yet  he  gave  direction  to  the  entire  Anglican 
movement,  and  was  the  chief  prompter  of  both  Henry  and 
Elizabeth.  In  all  things  Cranmer  pandered  to  the  passions 
and  prejudices  of  Henry,  while  hypocritically  plotting  against 
the  ancient  Church,  and  striving  to  introduce  insidiously  and 

*  "History  of  England,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  38,  30. 


316  CnKISTlAOTTY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

gradually  Lutlieranism.  From  the  first  he  was  aided  and 
abetted  by  the  lascivious  Anne,  who  was  intriguing  to  be 
queen,  and  the  Puritanical  Lutherans  of  England. 

After  Cranmer  had  been  sent  to  Home  by  Henry,  in  order 
to  induce  Pope  Clement  YII.  to  grant  the  desired  divorce, 
and  had  failed  in  accomplishing  the  object,  he  went  to  Ger- 
many, and  while  there  was  compelled  to  marry  the  sister  of 
Osiander,  whom  he  had  basely  seduced.  During  his  sojourn 
in  Germany,  in  1633,  Henry  appointed  him  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury.  He  accepted  the  position,  and  was  consecrated, 
with  professions  of  submission  to  the  pope,  with  oaths  of 
fidelity,  and  other  ceremonies  customary  in  the  consecration 
of  Roman  Catholic  bishops.  The  hypocrisy  and  treachery 
of  this  bad  man  was  thus  most  sacrilegiously  manifested. 
From  this  time  forward  Cranmer  was  untiring  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  his  own  ambitious  purposes.  His  intrigues 
with  the  Parliament,  the  people,  Henry,  and  Anne,  were  un- 
remitting. 

Through  these  machinations  of  Cranmer,  Henry  was  in- 
duced to  carry  his  violation  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man  to 
such  a  pitch  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was  forced  to  excom- 
municate him.  This  act  aroused  all  the  bad  passions  of 
Henry  to  the  highest  point.  His  principal  traits  were  lust, 
pride,  ambition,  and  irascibility.  Finding  himself  cut  oif 
from  the  Church,  his  anger  knew  no  bounds,  and  he  speedily 
declared  himself  "  the  supreme  spiritual  head  of  the  Church 
of  England  under  Jesus  Christ."  He  required  his  Parliament 
to  pass  laws  sanctioning  this  sacrilegious  usurpation,  and  his 
clergy  and  people  to  acknowledge  his  wicked  pretensions, 
under  the  most  severe  penalties.  Ancient  and  extinct  feudal 
laws  and  statutes,  like  those  of  '•'' prcQinimiTe^'^  were  dragged 
from  the  dust  of  centuries  and  set  up  as  the  law  of  the  land, 
for  the  purpose  of  coercing  the  Anglican  clergy  into  submis- 
sion. On  the  one  hand  the  unfortunate  people  of  England 
beheld  the  dungeon,  the  rack,  confiscation  of  property,  and 
the  fagot  or  the  gibbet,  while  on  the  other  were  apostasy, 
recognition  of  an  adulterous  king  as  spiritual  head  of  their 


TKAITS   OF   A   FEW   OF   THE   TEOMLNENT   INNOVATOES.      31Y 

Church,  and,  perhaps,  royal  favors.  The  persecutions  and 
savage  punishments  by  death  of  Chancellor  More,  Bishop 
Fisher,  and  numerous  other  faithful  men,  attest  the  ferocity 
with  which  Henry  carried  out  his  infamous  designs  against 
the  Church  of  God. 

There  were  numerous  other  innovators,  in  various  parts 
of  Europe,  who  were  contemporaneous  witli  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin, and  who  exercised  more  or  less  influence  over  the 
rationalistic  and  disaffected  element,  particularly  of  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  France,  and  England,  but  we  have  not 
space  to  notice  them  in  this  work.  We  have  presented  the 
doctrines  and  personal  traits  of  a  sufficient  number  to  enable 
the  candid  inquirer  to  form  a  judgment  respecting  the  char- 
acter and  tendencies  of  these  doctrines,  and  the  motives 
which  have  impelled  each  one  of  their  originators.  Were 
we  to  attemj^t  a  classification  of  the  innovators  of  the  six- 
teenth century  from  a  iiiedical  stand-point,  it  would  be  as 
follows : 

Victims  of  Meligious  Monomania. 
Martin  Luther,  Nicholas  Stork, 

Mathias  Harlem,  John  of  Leyden, 

David  George,  Hermann, 

Hackett,  Munzer. 

Victims  of  Ilorhid  Credulity  and  of  Moral  Insanity. 

Melancthon,  Karlstadt, 

Buccr,  Zwinglius, 

QEcolampadius. 

Innovators  who  were  actuated  by  Personal  Ambition  and 
Heartless  Cynicism. 
Calvin,  Cranmer, 

Froment,  Farel. 

Victims  of  TInbridled  Lust  and  Self-indidyence. 
Henry  VIH.,  Ulric  Hutten. 


318  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

From  the  most  reliable  sources,  nearly  all  of  them  Prot- 
estant, we  have  gleaned  the  characteristic  personal  traits 
and  the  motives  of  the  leading  innovators  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  with  a  view  of  displaying  clearly  the  primary  im- 
pelling agencies  of  the  so-called  Reformation,  and  the  true 
characters  of  the  men  who  instigated  it.  It  has  been  our 
aim  to  review  these  individual  traits  impartially  but  fear- 
lessly, and  to  subject  each  innovator  to  a  critical  examination 
respecting  his  mental  and  moral  condition,  and  the  animus 
which  has  directed  him.  "We  have  been  obliged  to  place 
several  of  these  unfortunate  gentlemen  in  the  category  of 
monomaniacs ;  but  in  doing  this,  we  have  adhered  rigidly  to 
the  definitions  of  the  most  reputable  medical  authorities 
upon  mental  diseases. 

We  regret  that  we  have  not  space  to  add  to  the  list  of 
the  Reformers  of  the  sixteenth  century,  in  order  to  show 
more  clearly  how  rapidly  one  novelty  leads  to  another,  and 
with  how  much  facility  absurdity  may  follow  absurdity,  and 
impiety  follow  impiety,  when  the  foundations  of  Christian 
truth  are  undermined.  We  regret  still  more  that  we  are 
unable  to  present  even  the  Jimnes  of  the  innumerable  reli- 
gious novelties  and  sects  which  have  sprung  into  existence 
since  the  Reformation ;  for  such  an  exposition  would  shock 
and  grieve  most  deeply  all  who  regard  the  repeated  and  sol- 
emn injunctions  of  Christ  and  His  apostles  with  reference  to 
the  unity  and  harmony  of  His  Church. 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

FRUITS    OF    THE    EEFOrxMATION    IN    EUROPE. 

Influence  on  the  Religious  Sentiment, 

Among  the  first  and  immediate  fruits  of  the  lieformation 
in  Europe,  were  an  alarming  increase  of  religious  skepticism 
and  a  general  deterioration  of  public  morals.  These  evils 
were  legitimate  results  of  the  overthrow  of  the  ancient  land- 
marks of  religion,  ecclesiastical  law  and  discipline,  and  the 
substitution  of  the  theological  hypotheses  of  visionary  inno- 
vatoi-s.  Those  who  were  inclined  to  sensuality,  violence, 
change,  and  fanaticism,  embraced  the  j^olygamous  and  revo- 
lutionary views  of  Luther,  Mathias  Harlem,  and  John  of 
Leyden.  Those  who  were  revengeful,  quarrelsome,  cruel, 
and  sanguinary,  allied  themselves  to  Zwinglius,  David 
George,  Farel,  and  Froment,  The  cynical,  selfish,  heartlesSj 
and  Puritanical  element  sided  with  Calvin.  The  credulous 
and  Adsionary  regarded  Melancthon  and  OEcolampadius  as 
their  leadere.  The  rationalist  looked  up  to  Socinus  as  the 
only  true  interpreter  and  guide ;  while  the  great  mass  of 
Germans — materialistic  and  godless  by  nature — regarded 
with  complacency  all  of  these  numerous  and  conflicting  nov- 
elties and  sects,  believing  in  none  of  them,  but  liolding  them 
all  up  to  the  gaze  of  the  Avorld  as  arguments  against  Chris- 
tianity itself.  Luther  and  his  contemporaries  rendered  it  fash- 
ionable to  ridicule  and  calumniate  the  Church  ;  human  pride 


320  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

and  passion  bronglit  forth  tlie  natural  sequences  in  infidelity, 
immorality,  and  contempt  for  sacred  things. 

"The  Reformation,"  says  Strauss,  "effected  the  first 
breach  in  the  solid  structure  of  the  faith  of  the  Church.  It 
was  the  first  vital  expression  of  a  culture,  which  had  now  in 
the  heart  of  Christendom  itself,  as  formerly  in  relation  to 
paganism  and  Judaism,  acquired  strength  and  independence 
sufficient  to  create  a  reaction  against  the  soil  of  its  birth,  the 
prevailing  religion.  This  reaction,  so  long  as  it  was  directed 
against  the  dominant  hierarchy,  constituted  the  sublime  (?) 
but  quickly  terminated  drama  of  the  Reformation.  In  its 
later  direction  against  the  Bible,  it  appeared  again  upon  the 
stage  in  the  barren  revolutionary  efforts  of  deism  ;  and  many 
and  various  have  been  the  forms  it  has  assumed  in  its  prog- 
ress down  to  the  present  time. 

"  The  deists  and  naturalists  of  the  seventeenth  and  eigh- 
teenth centuries  renewed  the  polemic  attacks  of  the  pagan 
adversaries  of  Christianity  in  the  bosom  of  the  Christian 
Church ;  and  gave  to  the  public  an  irregular  and  confused 
mass  of  criticisms,  impugning  the  authenticity  and  credibili- 
ty of  the  Scriptures,  and  exposing  to  contempt  the  events 
recorded  in  the  sacred  volume."  * 

The  efforts  of  these  men  to  corrupt  and  debauch  the  reli- 
gious and  moral  sentiment  of  Europe,  were  materially  en- 
hanced by  inflammatory  declamations  and  unscrupulous 
calumnies,  which  were  scattered  broadcast  in  the  form  of 
books,  pamphlets,  and  journals,  throughout  Germany  and 
the  other  kingdoms  of  Europe.  The  press  was  almost  en- 
tirely monopolized  by  these  religious  revolutionists,  and 
through  this  medium  mountains  of  calumny  and  vulgar  rib- 
aldry were  lieaped  upon  the  ancient  Church  and  her  faith- 
ful children. 

Until  the  innovating  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
the  faith  of  Christendom  had  been  a  unit ;  there  were  no 
divisions,  no  dissensions,  no  false  teachers  or  false  doctrines 
in   the    Christian   household.       Men,  women,  and  children 

*  "  Life  of  Jesus,"  vol.  i.,  p.  IS.       • 


FEUrrS  OF  THE  EEFOEMATION  IN  EUEOPE.      321 

knew  only  one  Chiircli,  one  faith,  and  one  form  of  worship, 
and  were  contented  and  happy  in  their  religious  convictions. 
So  universal  was  this  unity,  so  thoroughly  grounded  was 
this  faith,  and  so  general  was  the  practical  observance  of  the 
duties  of  religion,  that  skepticism,  the  novelties  of  individ- 
uals, irrcligion,  and  immorality,  were  comparatively  rare. 
The  Christian  Church  had  been  made  up  of  converts  from 
numerous  races  and  nations,  and  there  had  been  a  continual 
struggle  for  more  than  fifteen  centuries  between  the  Church 
on  tlie  one  hand  and  these  elements  of  ignorance  and  evil  on 
the  other ;  but,  notwithstanding  these  fearful  obstacles,  the 
Cliurch  had  finally  triumphed,  true  Christian  civilization  had 
fairly  gained  the  ascendency  over  barbarism,  and  a  univer- 
sal reign  of  Christian  unity  and  concord  was  rapidly  dawn- 
ing over  the  whole  world,  when,  suddenly,  the  innovators  of 
Germany  broke  in  upon  this  unity  and  harmony,  arrested 
the  onward  progress  of  Christianity,  and  deluged  the  world 
with  distracting  novelties,  creeds,  and  sects.  Novel,  absurd, 
and  revolutionary  sentiments,  generally  diffused  by  preach- 
ers, or  through  the  press,  and  an  almost  universal  deteriora- 
tion of  morals  and  manners,  were  regarded  as  freedom  of 
thought,  liberty  of  the  press,  and  manly  independence. 

After  the  religious  revolution  had  become  fully  estab- 
lished, and  before  the  expiration  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
rationalism,  materialism,  and  religious  indifference  had  made 
alarming  progress  throughout  Europe.  Nearly  all  reverence 
for  sacred  things,  and  all  love  for  or  faith  in  religion,  seemed 
to  have  departed  from  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men.  Vision- 
ary enthusiasts  made  their  aj^pearance  at  every  j^oint,  ha- 
ranguing and  exhorting  the  credulous  multitude,  undei-mi- 
uing  their  faith,  and  deluding  them  into  paths  of  error  and 
sin. 

Until  the  Reformation  marriage  had  always  been  regard- 
ed by  Christians  as  a  holy  sacrament,  and  a  binding  and 
permanent  contract.  Up  to  this  period  no  one  had  presumed 
to  misinterpret  or  to  violate  Christ's  positive  injunctions  to 
cleave  to  one  wife,  and  to  "  let  no  man  put  asunder  what  God 
11* 


322  CHRISTIANITY   AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

has  joined  together."  The  universal  Church,  those  in  author- 
ity, and  society  recognized  the  obligatory  character  of  these 
specific  commands,  as  well  as  their  consummate  wisdom 
and  utility  in  a  moral  and  social  point  of  view.  But  when, 
in  1540,  Luther,  Bucer,  and  Melancthon,  after  careful  delib- 
eration, and  a  full  consultation  upon  the  subject,  gave  their 
Avritten  permission  to  Philip,  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  to 
marry  Marguerite  de  Saal,  while  his  first  wife,  Christine  of 
Saxony,  was  still  living,  and  with  her  consent,  the  religious 
sentiment  of  Europe  was  outraged  and  debauched.  The  par- 
ties interested  in  the  scandalous  transaction  endeavored  to 
keep  the  matter  secret,  but  the  arch-patron  of  evil  could  not 
afiTord  to  lose  the  potent  influence  of  this  novel  and  authori- 
tative example,  and  the  whole  affair  was  made  public.  Here 
was  a  powerful  ruler,  the  chief  patron  and  defender  of  the 
Reformation,  the  political  father  of  millions  of  trusting  sub- 
jects, who  deliberately  violated  one  of  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity,  and  gave  an  example  of  disobedience 
in  the  highest  degree  derogatory  to  the  religious  sentiment 
and  the  morals  of  his  people.  In  his  celebrated  letter  to  his 
spiritual  advisers,  in  which  he  presents  arguments  in  favor 
of  polygamy  from  the  Old  Testament^  and  from  the  j^ractices 
of  the  Mosaic  patriarchs,  the  great  civil  champion  of  the  Ref- 
ormation ignores  the  positive  precepts  and  commands  which 
Christ  incorporated  in  the  New  Law.  With  these  arguments, 
and  a  promise  to  aid  the  Reformation  by  arms  in  case  of 
compliance,  he  submitted  the  question  to  the  three  leading 
Reformers,  who,  after  deliberation,  and  over  their  own  sig- 
natures, gave  the  desired  permission,  sanctioned  the  sacrile- 
gious outrage  against  the  laws  of  Christ,  and  set  an  example 
which  has  brought  forth  evil  fruits  down  to  the  present  mo- 
ment. What  do  we  see  ?  The  three  master-spirits  of  the 
Reformation,  and  their  principal  convert,  patron,  and  de- 
fender, all  taking  issue  with  Christ  concerning  a  holy  sacra- 
ment, repudiating  and  disobeying  a  specific  injunction  of  the 
New  Testament,  by  which  they  claimed  to  be  exclusively 
governed,  and  setting  uj)  in  its  stead  the  obsolete  Mosaic 


FKUITS   OF   THE   EEFOKMATION    IN    EUKOrE.  323 

theory  and  practice  of  polygamy  !  And  yet  these  men  de- 
nominated themselves  Reformers! 

No  sooner  were  the  facts  respecting  this  plurality  of 
wives  made  public,  than  wicked  priests  and  nuns  rushed  in 
hot  haste  to  violate  their  sacred  vows  of  celibacy,  and  to 
indulge  in  worldly  pleasures.  Many,  like  Mathias  Har- 
lem, and  the  tailor  of  Leyden,  were  not  content  with  two 
wives,  but  took  to  themselves  as  many  as  seventeen  at  a 
time.  With  a  greater  show  of  decency,  Henry  VHI.  re- 
frained from  actually  possessing  more  than  one  wife  at  a 
time,  for  he  always  had  at  his  command  a  self-constituted 
divorce-monger — a  sharp  axe  and  an  expert  executioner,  and 
thus  he  managed  his  amorous  affairs  with  kingly  decorum. 
In  all  Protestant  communities,  from  the  Reformation  to  the 
present  time,  the  sacred  obligations  of  marriage  have  con- 
tinued to  become  less  and  less  appreciated  and  respected. 
The  looseness  of  the  laws  and  statutes  concerning  divorces 
in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  is  a  scoff  and  a  by- 
word to  every  i-eal  Christian.  In  the  latter  country  espe- 
cially, the  most  trivial  pretext  of  a  licentious  husband  or 
wife  is  admitted  as  a  valid  ground  for  a  divorce,  and  the 
holy  bond  is  severed  by  a  dozen  words  from  a  magistrate. 
Independently  of  the  pernicious  influences  which  this  fruit 
of  the  Reformation  has  exercised  ujion  morals,  the  welfare  of 
families,  and  society,  it  has  contributed  materially  toward 
corrupting  and  degrading  the  religious  sentiment  of  the 
world.  Trace  these  influences  where  you  will,  and  they  will 
always  be  found  associated  with  immorality,  vice,  and  a  de- 
terioration of  morals  and  manners. 

After  the  Reformation  had  become  fully  established  in 
Germany,  each  innovator  deemed  it  necessary  to  oj)pose 
every  thing  pertaining  to  Catholicism.  The  divinely-insti- 
tuted sacraments  were  sneered  at  and  neglected,  the  sacred 
emblems  of  the  cnicifixion,  the  likenesses  and  statues  of  our 
Saviour,  the  pictorial  and  other  representations  of  the  scenes 
and  incidents  connected  with  Christ's  mission  to  earth,  and 
even  the  Catholic  churches,  monasteries,  and  libraries  were 


S24:  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

everywhere  attacked,  mutilated,  and  often  utterly  destroyed. 
Whatever  was  held  sacred  by  Catholics  was  systematically 
denounced  and  ridiculed,  and  the  Scriptures  were  perverted 
and  distorted  in  order  to  sustain  these  adverse  doctrines.  In 
their  sacrilegious  desecration  of  sacred  things,  preachers 
themselves  not  unfrequently  led  on  the  riotous  mob,  and  with 
their  own  hands  aided  in  insulting  and  destroying  the  em- 
blems of  Christianity.  These  acts  of  vandalism  were  perpe- 
trated under  the  influence  of  anger  and  vindictiveness,  and 
not  from  any  conscientious  convictions  of  duty.  Thus,  v/hcn 
Karlstadt  entered  the  Catholic  churches  of  Wittenberg,  sup- 
ported and  urged  on  by  a  fierce  rabble,  he  made  no  effort  to 
conceal  his  brutal  ferocity,  and  his  contempt  for  those  things 
which  all  Christendom  had  hitherto  regarded  as  holy.  We 
have  before  remarked  that,  in  the  first  instance,  the  revolu- 
tionists never  dreamed  of  doubting  or  of  opposing  the  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  ancient  Church.  Every  faculty  of 
their  minds  and  hearts,  every  true  aspiration  of  their  souls, 
every  instinct  of  their  natures,  assured  tliem  of  these  eternal 
truths,  and  it  was  only  w^ien  the  baser  emotions  of  hatred, 
anger,  vengeance,  lust,  and  thirst  for  notoriety  gained  full 
possession  of  them,  that  they  cast  aside  all  the  restraints  of 
that  religion  which  had  governed  the  religious  world  during 
the  Christian  era,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  the  innovations, 
novelties,  and  sacrilegious  impieties  and  immoralities  of  men. 
In  their  frantic  efforts  to  injure  the  Church,  and  to  secure 
proselytes,  they  deemed  it  necessary  to  debase  and  destroy, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  people,  and 
ail  reverence  for  sacred  thinofs. 

That  nothing  calculated  to  impair  this  religious  senti- 
ment should  be  omitted,  the  revolutionists  and  their  followers 
not  only  attacked  the  churches,  monasteries,  and  nunneries 
with  fire  and  sword,  but  actually  forced  the  priests,  monks, 
and  nuns  from  altar,  cloister,  and  cell — from  their  earthly 
homes,  from  their  devotional  lives,  from  their  means  of  sus- 
tenance— and  with  insults,  jeers,  and  stripes  drove  them 
through  the  streets  and  by-ways,  penniless,  helpless,  and 


FEUITS   OF   THE   KEFOEMATION   IN    EUROrE.  325 

hungry.  In  many  instances  tlicy  were  murdered  in  cold 
blood,  amid  the  scoffs  and  ribaldry  of  the  reformed  converts. 
And  yet  these  men  had  the  assurance  to  announce  them- 
selves as  disciples  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the  Prince  of  peace, 
love,  and  charity ! 

In  Switzerland  a  similar  depravation  of  the  religious  sen- 
timent occurred  under  the  teachings  of  Zwinglius,  Calvin, 
and  Farel,  as  had  already  been  accomplished  in  Germany 
under  the  inspiration  of  Lutlier,  Bucer,  Melancthon,  Karl- 
stadt,  and  the  mad  prophets  of  Munster  and  Leyden.  But 
tlie  Swiss  innovators  found  it  a  more  difficult  task  to  corrupt 
the  sentiments  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land than  their  German  brethren  had  experienced  in  mis- 
leading the  people  of  that  nation.  The  fatalistic  doctrines  of 
Calvin,  altliough  presented  with  all  the  eloquence  and  subtle 
sophistry  of  Calvin  himself,  and  advocated  w4th  the  fiery 
zeal  and  unwearied  energy  of  men  like  Farel,  Froment,  and 
Zwinglius,  w^ould  never  have  made  progress  beyond  the 
limits  of  Geneva,  unless  the  bayonet  and  the  flxgot  had  been 
brought  into  requisition  as  proselyting  auxiliaries.  Time 
and  again  were  the  cantons  of  Zurich,  Berne,  and  Vaud  be- 
sieged by  these  teachers  of  nev/  and  strange  doctrines  with- 
out success,  and  it  was  only  when  a  fanatical  army  entered 
their  borders,  with  "  military  necessity  "  inscribed  upon  their 
innovating  banners,  that  the  helpless  inhabitants  succumbed. 
Under  the  spur  of  the  bayonet  on  tlie  one  liand,  and  the 
temptations  of  a  life  of  irreligion  and  self-indulgence  on  the 
other,  a  portion  of  the  people  of  the  invaded  districts  ab- 
jured their  allegiance  to  the  Church,  and  embarked  upon  an 
ocean  of  doubt,  skepticism,  novelty,  and  change.  Every 
means  which  ingenuity  and  hatred  of  the  Church  could  de- 
vise were  resorted  to  by  the  revolutionary  radicals  of  Swit- 
zerland to  degrade,  and,  if  possible,  to  extinguish  the  religious 
sentiment  of  the  people,  and  to  mould  them  into  the  Puri- 
tanical hypotheses  of  Calvin.  What  the  cunning  sophistries, 
the  polished  writings,  and  the  remarkable  eloquence  of  the 
Genevan  innovator  could  not  accomjolish,  w^as  left  to  the 


326  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

bloody  swords  of  his  pious  auxiliaries.  With  these  united 
elements,  the  Reformation  made  progress  in  the  land  of  Wil- 
liam Tell  for  several  generations,  and  infidelity,  fraternal  dis- 
cord, and  a  general  dejDravation  of  morals  and  manners  ob- 
tained, where  true  faith,  concord,  and  morality  had  before 
existed.  Before  Calvin  and  Zwinglius  commenced  their  in- 
novations, the  people  of  the  thirteen  Swiss  cantons  were 
united,  religious,  moral,  prosjoerous,  j^eaceful,  and  happy; 
afterward  they  became  estranged,  hostile,  revengeful,  san- 
guinary, skeptical,  immoral,  and  distracted  by  contentions 
and  civil  wars.  Friends,  neighbors,  and  relatives  became 
enemies,  the  golden  maxims  of  Christ  were  ignored,  and 
the  theological  inventions  of  ambitious  men  were  adopted  as 
the  only  rule  of  faith  and  action.  "  The  same  great  features 
marked  the  revolutions  in  both  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
with  this  only  difference,  that  the  Swiss  was  more  radical 
and  more  thorough.  Like  the  German,  however,  its  progress 
was  everywhere  signalized  by  dissensions,  civil  commotions, 
rapme,  violence,  and  bloodshed.  And,  like  the  German,  it 
was  also  indebted  for  its  permanent  establishment  to  the  in- 
terposition of  the  civil  authorities."  * 

Until  the  Reformation,  the  religious  sentiment  of  France, 
was  uniform  and  free  from  doubts  and  distractions.  If  now 
and  then  an  eccentric  and  visionary  man  cavilled  at  some  indi- 
vidual indiscretion,  or  objected  to  some  point  of  Church  discip- 
line, his  opposition  was  impotent,  and  he  stood  alone,  an  object 
of  contempt  or  commiseration.  But  when  the  door  for  licen- 
tiousness of  thought  and  action  was  opened  wide  by  the 
German  Reformers,  the  legitimate  fruits  were  speedily  man- 
ifest in  innumerable  and  diverse  creeds,  theological  specula- 
tions, and  political  systems  founded  upon  rationalism,  per- 
sonal ambition,  and  the  interests  of  civil  rulers.  The  laws 
of  God  were  perverted  or  ignored,  as  individual  interest  dic- 
tated. Impoverished  and  unscrupulous  rulers  had  only  to 
adopt  the  Puritan  system,  plant  themselves  upon  a  conve- 
nient theological  platform,  and  then  replenish  their  exhausted 

*  Spaulding,  "History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  168. 


FEUITS    OF   THE    REFORMATION   IN    EUROPE.  327 

coders  by  robbing  the  rich  possessions  of  the  Chiircli.  All 
history  warrants  the  assertion  that  nearly  all  the  kings  and 
nobles  who  joined  the  Reformation  during  the  sixteenth, 
seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries  were  actuated  solely 
by  a  desire  to  seize  fraudulently  upon  these  rich  possessions. 
These  were  the  men  who  upheld  by  the  sword,  or  by  patron- 
age, the  revolutionary  sectaries  of  Europe,  and  entailed  upon 
the  world  such  a  multiplicity  of  sects.  These  were  the  men 
who  aided  and  abetted  the  religious  revolutionists  with  the 
strong  arm  of  civil  and  military  power,  to  impair  the  unity 
and  harmony  of  the  Church,  and  to  elevate  as  teachers  and 
manufacturers  of  religious  sentiment  such  men  as  Voltaire, 
Rousseau,  Hume,  Gibbon,  Kant,  and  Tom  Paine.  At  the 
courts  of  Protestant  princes  the  rankest  infidel  could  always 
find  protection  and  suj^port. 

Alluding  to  the  rapid  progress  of  rationalism  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Dollinger  observes  :  "  The 
new  philosophic  systems,  conceived,  born,  and  bred  in  Prot- 
estantism, aided  and  promoted  the  progress  of  rationalism. 
The  Kantian  philosophy  declares  the  religion  of  reason  to  be 
the  only  true  one.  .  .  .  Revealed  religion,  according  to  this 
system,  can  and  ought  to  be  naught  else  but  a  mere  vehicle 
for  the  easier  introduction  of  rational  religion. . . .  By  the  side 
of  this  Kantian  philosophy,  the  rival  system  of  Jacobi  found 
its  partisans  among  the  Protestant  divines ;  and  this  2:>hilos- 
ophy  was  no  less  incompatible  with  the  Christian  religion 
than  that  of  Kant.  According  to  Jacobi,  religion,  like  all 
philosophic  science,  depends  on  a  natural,  immediate  faith — an 
indemonstrable  perception  of  the  true  and  the  spiritual ;  and 
any  other  revelation  besides  this  inward  one  doth  not  exist."  * 

It  is  a  strange  thing  that  such  multitudes  have  been 
willing  to  abandon  the  divine  precepts  of  Christ  and  His 
Church,  to  sacrifice  their  principles,  and  to  peril  their  future 
welfare  at  the  suggestion  of  an  innovating  philosopher  or 
theologian,  or  for  the  sake  of  worldly  gain.  But  it  is  an  in- 
controvertible fact,  that  when  men  once  discard  the  princi- 

*  Dollinger  "  Kirchciigcscbicbtc,"  pp.  343,  344. 


328  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

pies  and  restraints  of  religion,  become  slaves  to  mere  human 
philosophy,  and  allow  pride  and  passion  to  dominate  over 
them,  they  fall  to  the  level  of  brutes  in  point  of  unreasoning 
recklessness  of  opinion,  ferocity,  and  cruelty.  When  these 
passions  once  gain  headway,  the  mad  torrent  sweeps  away 
and  destroys  every  thing  before  it — conscience,  religion,  rea- 
son, and  humanity. 

Almost  every  eminent  Protestant  historian  has  alluded  to 
the  great  debt  which  mankind  owes  to  the  ancient  Church  as 
the  only  depository  and  preserver  of  learning  up  to  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  of  whatever  knowledge  had  come  down 
from  the  early  and  middle  ages  concerning  agriculture  and 
the  useful  arts.  Many  of  them  have  appreciated  the  dangers 
of  innovations  upon  the  established  doctrines  of  this  ancient 
Church,  and  the  substitution  in  their  j^lace  of  the  rationalistic 
liypotheses  of  individuals.  Alluding  to  the  Albigensian  and 
Lollard  heresies,  Macaulay  writes :  "  If  that  Church  (Ro- 
man) had  been  overthrovfn  in  the  twelfth  or  even  in  the  four- 
teenth century,  the  vacant  sjDace  would  have  been  occupied 
by  some  system  more  corrupt  still.  There  was  then,  through 
the  greater  part  of  Europe,  very  little  knowledge,  and  that 
little  was  confined  to  the  clergy.  IsTot  one  man  in  five  hun- 
dred could  have  spelled  his  way  through  a  psalm.  Books  were 
few  and  costly.  The  art  of  printing  was  unknow^n.  Copies 
of  the  Bible,  inferior  in  beauty  and  clearness  to  those  which 
every  cottager  may  now  command,  sold  for  prices  which 
many  priests  could  not  afford  to  give.  It  was  obviously  im- 
possible that  the  laity  should  search  the  Scriptures  for  them- 
selves. It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  as  soon  as  they  had  put 
off  one  spiritual  yoke,  they  would  have  put  on  another,  and 
that  the  power  lately  exercised  by  the  clergy  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  Avould  have  j^assed  to  a  far  worse  class  of  teachers. 
The  sixteenth  century  was  comparatively  a  time  of  light. 
Yet  even  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  considerable  number  of 
those  who  quitted  the  old  religion,  followed  the  first  confi- 
dent and  plausible  guide  who  offered  himself,  and  were  soon 
led  into  errors  far  more  serious  than  those  which  they  had 


FRUITS   OF    THE   EEFOEMATION   IN   EUEOPE.  329 

renounced.  Tims  Mathias  and  Knijierdoling,  apostles  of  lust, 
robbery,  and  nuirdcr,  were  able  for  a  time  to  rule  great  cit- 
ies. In  a  darker  age  sucli  false  prophets  might  have  founded 
empires;  and  Christianity  might  have  been  distorted  into  a 
cruel  and  licentious  superstition,  more  noxious,  not  only  than 
popery,  but  even  than  Islamism."  * 

From  an  ardent  Protestant  like  Macaulay,  these  admis- 
sions, although  tinctured  with  insinuations  against  Catholi- 
cism, are  significant.  The  facts  are  clearly  recognized  by  the 
learned  historian,  that  nearly  all  knowledge,  the  Sacred  Wri- 
tings, and  every  thing  pertaining  to  Christianity  and  civiliza- 
tion were  in  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  clergy  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  jDrevious  to  the  Eeformation ;  and 
that,  if  this  Church  "  had  been  overthrown  in  the  twelfth  or 
even  in  the  fourteenth  century,  the  vacant  space  would  have 
been  occupied  by  some  system  more  corrupt  still."  As  an 
illustration  of  this  assertion,  he  cites  the  sad  fruits  of  a  few 
of  the  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century.  If  the  graphic 
pen  of  Macaulay  had  traced  out  all  of  the  disastrous  fruits 
of  the  Reformation,  in  the  forms  of  rationalism,  atheism, 
sectarianism,  immorality,  general  wickedness,  with  discord 
and  civil  wars,  he  would  have  j^resented  us  with  a  startling 
picture  of  human  credulity,  depravity,  and  vice. 

Referring  to  the  Reformation  in  France,  D'Aubigne  ob- 
serves "that  France,  after  having  been  almost  reformed, 
found  herself,  in  the  result,  Roman  Catholic.  The  sword  of 
her  princes,  cast  into  the  scale,  caused  it  to  inclme  in  fivor 
of  Rome.  Alas  !  another  sword,  that  of  the  Reformers  them- 
selves, insured  the  failure  of  the  effort  for  Reformation."  f 
Other  causes  besides  these  contributed  materially  to  the 
ultimate  failure  of  the  Reformation  in  France.  In  the  first 
instance,  the  Puritanical  teachings  of  Calvin  SAvept  like  a 
devastating  torrent  over  the  public  mind  of  France,  under- 
mining to  a  greater  or  less  extent  religious  faith,  instilling 
doubts  concerning  the  necessity  of  good  works,  and  inaugu- 
rating an  era  of  licentiousness  of  thought,  expression,  and  ac- 

*  "  Hist,  of  England,"  vol.  i.,  p.  34.  f  "  Hist,  of  the  Rcf."  vol.  i.,  p.  86. 


330  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tion  similar  to  that  wliicli  existed  in  Rome  under  Claudius 
and  Nero.  But,  ere  long,  the  very  violence  of  these  excesses 
brought  about  a  healthful  reaction,  and,  as  passion  subsided 
and  sober  reason  again  resumed  the  ascendency,  the  masses 
of  the  people  renounced  the  new  doctrines  and  returned  to 
the  religion  of  their  fathers.  That  the  bloody  swords  of  the 
Reformers  contributed  something  toward  this  reactionary 
movement,  we  concede ;  but  the  general  decline  of  the  re- 
ligious sentiment,  and  the  universal  deterioration  of  morals 
and  manners,  exercised  by  far  the  greater  influence.  Many 
writers,  including  Bossuet  and  Balmes,  have  alluded  to  the 
undoubted  fact,  that  Calvinism  leads  directly  either  to  infi- 
delity or  back  to  Catholicism.  The  attempt  to  reconcile  the 
Calvinistic  doctrines  with  infinite  love,  mercy,  and  justice  on 
the  part  of  the  Creator,  is  so  repugnant  to  common  sense, 
that  men  instinctively  rush  into  religious  skepticism,  or  re- 
turn to  the  fold  of  the  Church.  This,  among  other  reasons, 
induced  France,  "  after  having  been  almost  reformed,"  to  be- 
come again  Roman  Catholic. 

The  introduction  of  Calvinism  into  France  not  only  de- 
based the  religious  sentiment  of  the  Huguenots  themselves, 
but  its  demoralizing  influences  were  apparent  among  those 
who  still  clung  to  the  Catholic  faith.  This  decline  in  reli- 
gion and  morals  was  especially  marked  during  the  seven- 
teenth century,  under  the  reigns  of  Henry  IV.,  Louis  XHI., 
Louis  XIV.,  and  Louis  XV.  The  printed  books  and  j^am- 
phlets  with  which  the  Huguenots  deluged  France,  were  filled 
with  abusive  calumnies  against  the  Catholic  Church  and  her 
priesthood,  and  ridicule  and  sarcasm  against  the  most  sacred 
doctrines  and  observances  of  Christianity.  Fraternal  dis- 
cord and  strife  were  everywhere  incited  by  the  j^artisans  of 
Calvin,  and,  at  one  period,  nearly  the  whole  nation  became 
contaminated  with  infidelity,  immorality,  sensuality,  and  a 
spirit  of  dissension.  Referring  to  the  influence  of  the  Refor- 
mation in  France,  Bishop  Spaulding  thus  writes :  "  But  Prot- 
estantism obtained  sufficient  foothold  in  France  to  do  in- 
credible mischief  for  a  century  and  a  half;   and  it  sowed 


FEUITS   OF   THE   KEFOKMATION    LN^    EUKOPE.  331 

upon  her  beautiful  soil  the  fatal  seeds  which,  two  centuries 
and  a  half  later,  produced  the  bitter  fruits  of  anarchy,  infidel- 
ity, and  bloodshed,  during  the  dreadful  reign  of  terror."* 

Ere  long,  the  same  innovating  spirit  which  had  swept 
over  the  Continent  like  a  moral  sirocco,  manifested  itself  in 
England.  As  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  Sweden,  and  France, 
the  chief  instigators  were  ambitious,  licentious,  and  grasping 
rulers  on  the  one  hand,  and  worldly  and  wicked  priests  on 
the  other.  When  Henry  VIII.  became  the  supreme  spiritual 
and  temporal  head  of  his  dominions,  he  reduced  the  religious 
sentiment  of  England  into  a  mere  political  formula.  He  held 
the  conscience  and  the  religious  faith  of  his  subjects  in  the 
palm  of  his  hand,  and  he  caused  his  wicked  pretensions  and 
assumptions  of  spiritual  power  to  be  ratified  by  acts  of  Par- 
liament. In  imitation  of  the  German  and  Swiss  creed-coin- 
ers, bluff  King  Hal,  aided  by  his  unscrupulous  archbishoj^, 
manufiictured  a  creed  and  a  religion  for  his  subjects,  and 
constituted  them  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  organic  laws  of  the 
land. 

"  The  king,"  says  Macaulay,  "  was  to  be  the  pope  of  his 
kingdom,  the  vicar  of  God,  the  expositor  of  Catholic  verity, 
the  channel  of  sacramental  graces.  He  arrogated  to  himself 
the  right  of  deciding  dogmatically  what  was  orthodox  doc- 
trine and  what  was  heresy,  of  drawing  up  and  imposing  con- 
fessions of  faith,  and  of  giving  religious  instruction  to  his 
people.  He  proclaimed  that  all  jurisdiction,  spiritual  as  well 
as  temporal,  was  derived  from  him  alone,  and  that  it  was  in 
his  power  to  confer  episcopal  authority,  and  to  take  it  away. 
He  actually  ordered  his  seal  to  be  put  to  commissions,  by 
which  bishops  were  appointed,  who  were  to  exercise  their 
functions  as  his  deputies,  and  during  his  pleasure.  Accord- 
ing to  tliis  system,  as  expounded  by  Cranmer,  the  king  was 
the  spiritual  as  well  as  the  temporal  chief  of  the  nation."  f 

How  sad  and  humiliating  the  spectacle !  A  great  and 
proud  people,  ranking  high  in  intelligence  and  culture  among 

*  Spalding's  "  History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  109. 
f  "History  of  England,"  p.  41. 


332  cnEiSTiANiTY  ain[d  its  conflicts. 

the  nations  of  the  earth,  forced  to  give  up  their  religious 
opinions,  and  to  believe  and  to  worship  in  accordance  with 
a  royal  formula  framed  by  the  king — perhaps  while  in  the 
arms  of  his  mistress — and  his  bishoj^,  and  ratified  by  parlia- 
mentary enactment !  Could  the  religious  sentiment  of  a 
jDeople  have  been  more  debased,  or  could  true  religion  have 
received  a  more  vital  stab  than  this  ? 

We  cannot  look  back  upon  our  forefathers  of  this  epoch 
with  any  degree  of  respect,  when  we  remember  that  they 
abandoned  all  of  their  religious  convictions  at  the  dictation 
of  a  licentious  despot,  and  blindly  accepted  a  theological  sys- 
tem and  a  new  religion  which  had  been  made  to  order  by  an 
unprincij)led  and  pliant  prelate.  Such  an  abject  debase- 
ment of  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  majority  of  a  great 
nation,  must  forever  remain  recorded  against  it  as  a  stigma 
upon  its  principles  and  its  courage.  Even  the  Continental 
innovators  reserved  to  themselves  the  privilege  of  selecting 
their  articles  of  faith  and  their  mode  of  worship ;  but  our 
English  ancestors  were  forced  to  pocket  their  reasons  and 
their  consciences,  and  to  adopt  as  truth  and  religion  what- 
ever lustful  Henry  and  intriguing  Cranmer  chose  to  offer 
them.  It  must  be  difficult  for  any  one  of  English  descent  to 
contemj)late  this  weakness  and  religious  defection  without 
emotions  of  shame  and  humiliation. 

It  is  true  that  Queen  Elizabeth  altered  the  original  theo- 
logical code  of  her  father  from  motives  of  political  expediency, 
and  conformed  it  somev/hat  to  the  prejudices  of  her  dissent- 
ing sectaries,  with  a  view  of  conciliating  their  friendship  and 
their  political  support ;  but  Avith  all  these  modifications,  the 
Anglican  faith  and  the  Anglican  Church  were  still  of  human 
origin,  and  were  presided  over,  regulated,  and  sustained 
solely  by  monarcli  and  Parliament.  But  amidst  this  general 
decline  of  the  religious  principle,  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  a  considerable  number  preferred  to  sufiEer  persecution 
and  death  rather  than  renounce  their  religion.  These  martyrs 
must  be  forever  regarded  as  the  only  representatives  of  true 
Christianity,  as  well  as  of  manhood  and  courage,  under  the 


FKUITS   OF   TtlE   REFORMATION    IN    EUROPE.  333 

reigns  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth.  Had  tlie  servile  subjects  of 
these  rulers  been  presented  with  a  Socinian,  or  a  Lutheran,  or 
a  Calvinistic,  or  an  Atheistic,  or  even  a  IMohammedan  system 
of  theology,  instead  of  the  one  actually  given  them,  we  verily 
believe  that  either  one  of  them  would  have  been  accepted, 
w^itli  perhaps  the  soothing  proviso  which  Henry  condescended 
to  incorporate  in  the  first  instance,  viz.,  "  that  the  doctrines 
accepted  should  not  be  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  God."  A 
people  that  would  give  up,  at  short  notice,  the  convictions  of 
their  lives  and  the  religion  of  their  fathers  at  the  command 
of  a  man,  and,  without  examination  or  query,  adopt  a  new 
one,  would  have  accepted  any  other  system  witli  the  same 
facility. 

"  Popery,"  says  D'Aubigne,  "  is  a  lofty  barrrier  erected 
by  the  labor  of  ages  between  God  and  man.  If  any  one  de- 
sires to  scale  it,  he  must  pay,  or  he  must  suffer ;  and  even 
then  he  will  not  surmount  it. 

"  The  Reformation  is  the  power  that  has  overthrown  this 
barrier,  that  has  restored  Christ  to  man,  and  has  thus  opened 
a  level  path  by  which  he  may  reach  his  Creator. 

"Popery  interposes  the  Church  between  God  and  man. 
Primitive  Christianity  and  the  Reformation  bring  God  and 
man  face  to  face. 

"Popery  separates  them — the  gospel  unites  them."  * 

If  popery  has  interposed  the  Church  between  God  and 
man,  as  a  "  lofty  barrier  which  man  has  been  unable  to  sur- 
mount," from  the  time  of  the  apostles  until  the  Reformation, 
we  beg  to  ask  M.  D'Aubignc  where  was  the  Divine  Guardian 
of  this  Church  during  all  these  ages,  and  what  becomes  of 
the  solemn  declaration  of  Jesus  Christ  just  before  His  ascen- 
sion, that  He  would  remain  xcith  it  forever  ?  Docs  this 
innovator  suppose  that  the  divine  Spirit  of  Truth  would 
tolerate  error  or  irreligion  in  a  Church  over  which  He  pre- 
sides as  special  guardian  and  defender,  and  Avhich  was  found- 
ed by  Jehovah  Himself?  Does  this  man  really  believe 
that  Christ's  Church  was  a  failure  during  fifteen  hundred 

*  "History  of  the  Reformation,"  p.  IG. 


334  CHKISTIANITT   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

years;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  unable  to  lead  it  and  to 
kee23  it  in  all  truth ;  and  that,  after  so  many  ages,  such  men  as 
Luther,  Bucer,  Calvin,  John  of  Leyden,  Cranmer,  Henry 
VHL,  and  Socinus,  extricated  the  Spirit  of  God  from  His 
false  j)osition.  His  difficulties,  and  His  failures,  and  placed 
"  primitive  Christianity  "  on  its  legs  again  ? 

How  has  "  the  Reformation  brought  God  and  man  face 
to  face  ?  "  By  giving  free  scope  to  licentiousness  of  thought 
and  expression,  to  pride  of  opinion,  and  to  human  passion, 
"the  Reformation  has  brought  men  face  to  face  with  God," 
as  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  Unitarians,  Socinians,  Arminians, 
Lifidels,  Deists,  Atheists,  Pantheists,  Rationalists,  XJniversal- 
ists,  Sjiiritualists,  Mormons,  Transcendentalists,  and  in  thou- 
sands of  other  conflicting  and  impious  modes.  The  Refor- 
mation has  indeed  "  brought  God  and  man  face  to  face,"  but 
only  to  deride  His  holy  truths,  to  repudiate  the  mission  of 
His  Son,  and  to  mock  and  insult  Him  with  all  kinds  of 
infidelity.  If  "  the  Reformation  is  the  power  that  has  over- 
thrown this  barrier,"  it  is  the  power  which  has  opened  the 
flood-gates  of  rationalism  and  atheism,  and  deluged  the 
world  with  irreligion  and  all  kinds  of  immorality.  "  Primi- 
tive Christianity,"  to  which  D'Aubigne  likens  the  Reforma- 
tion, was  comprised  within  one  Church,  one  fold,  one  Lord, 
one  faith,  and  one  baptism :  the  Reformation  numbers  her 
churches  and  her  articles  of  faith  by  thousands.  "  Primitive 
Christianity"  was  023posed  to  fraternal  wars,  and  to  sectarian 
divisions  and  hatreds ;  the  history  of  the  Reformation  is  but 
a  series  of  bloody  civil  wars,  of  sectional  and  sectarian  con- 
tentions, animosities,  and  retaliations.  "  Primitive  Chris- 
tianity "  inculcated  brotherly  love,  charity,  and  disinterested 
benevolence ;  Reformed  Christianity  preaches  and  practices 
hatred,  vengeance,  cruelt}^,  blood.  "  Primitive  Christianity  " 
endeavored  to  bring  man  face  to  face  with  God,  in  unity  of 
faith,  and  in  perfect  confidence,  adoration,  and  obedience  to 
the  divine  ]3recepts  ;  the  reformed  clergy  have  always  brought 
men  face  to  face  with  the  Almighty  in  the  form  of  contradic- 
tory, wrangling,  and  very  often  infidel  sects.     The  primitive 


FRUITS    OF   THE   EEFOKMATION    IN    EUKOPE.  335 

Cliristians  and  their  loyal  successors  have  always  held  their 
own  finite  judgments  subordinate  to  the  divinely  instituted 
precepts  of  the  Church,  and  have  ever  recognized  the  fact  that 
the  Spirit  of  Truth  animates  and  directs  this  Cliurch ;  the 
Reformers  have  ignored  the  promises  of  Christ,  and  the 
divine  guardianship  over  the  Church,  and  have  set  up  certain 
revolutionary  agitators  as  the  only  interpreters  and  custodians 
of  the  Sacred  Writings.  The  primitive  Cluirch  has  always 
exalted  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  world  ;  the  innovating 
religionists  have  ever  debased  it.  ITow  absurd  then,  to  class 
the  religious  revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century  w^ith  "  Primi- 
tive Christianity ! " 

D'Aubigne  asserts  "  that  there  can  only  be  three  kinds 
of  religion  upon  earth,  according  as  God,  man,  or  the  priest 
is  its  author  and  its  head."  He  declares  that  "  hierarch- 
ism,  or  the  religion  of  the  priest — Christianity,  or  the  reli- 
gion of  God — rationalism,  or  the  religion  of  man,  are  the 
three  doctrines  that  divide  Cliristendom  in  our  days.  There 
is  no  salvation,  either  for  man  or  for  society,  in  the  first  or  in 
the  last."* 

If  the  ideas  of  this  Calvinistic  writer  are  correct,  tlie 
apostolic  hierarchy  was  a  priestly  invention  ;  the  o]'dinations 
of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons  in  every  place,  as  executive 
ministers  of  the  New  Law,  was  a  priestly  device  to  secure  pros- 
elytes and  power ;  their  exhortations  to  repentance,  confes- 
sion, ba2:)tism,  confirmation,  and  works  meet  for  repentance, 
idlo  mummeries  "  invented  by  the  priest  for  the  glory  of 
the  priest ; "  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  "  hierarchy  " 
simply  priestly  organizations  to  build  up  and  to  glorify  a 
"  sacerdotal  caste,"  and  "  there  is  no  salvation,  either  for 
man  or  for  society,"  in  the  teachings  and  the  labors  of  the 
ecclesiastical  organization  w^hich  Jesus  Christ  established  to 
preside  forever  over  Ilis  Church.  The  Swiss  writer  assigns 
the  following  reason  for  what  he  is  pleased  to  term  the  fall 
of  the  Church :  "  The  Church  has  fallen,  because  the  great 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  in  the  Saviour  had  been 

*  '*  History  of  the  Reformation,"  p.  5. 


336  CHEISTIANITT   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

taken  away  from  her.  It  was  necessary,  therefore,  before 
she  could  rise  again,  that  this  doctrine  should  be  restored  to 
her.  As  soon  as  this  fundamental  truth  should  be  reestab- 
lished in  Christendom,  all  the  errors  and  observances  that 
had  taken  its  place,  all  that  multitude  of  saints,  of  works, 
penances,  masses,  indulgences,  etc.,  would  disappear."  * 

Here  we  find  the  animus  of  D'Aubigne  in  a  nut-shell. 
Justification  by  faith  alone,  without  works ;  predestination, 
foreordination,  election,  total  depravity,  in  a  word,  thQ  fatal- 
istic tenets  of  John  Calvin,  are  the  stand-points  from  which 
he  has  judged  and  written  respecting  the  Catholic  Church. 
We  need  not  wonder  then  that  he  denies  the  necessity  of  an 
ecclesiastical  organization,  of  a  "  hierarchy,"  a  "  sacerdotal 
caste,"  or  any  other  worMng  association  of  Christians.  We 
need  not  wonder  that  he  repudiates  and  scoffs  at  good  works, 
penances,  all  tokens  of  respect  for  Christ,  and  all  commemo- 
rations of  His  passion  and  crucifixion.  We  need  not  wonder 
that  he  ridicules  the  devotional  observances  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  when  he  regards  man  as  a  helpless  being  in  the 
hands  of  the  Almighty,  living  out  a  prearranged  destiny, 
and  then  to  be  eternally  damned  or  saved,  as  vengeance  or 
mercy  may  have  originally  actuated  his  Creator. 

But,  notwithstanding  these  Puritanical  and  sacrilegious 
ideas  of  God,  and  the-gross  misrepresentations  of  the  Catho- 
olic  Church  and  her  doctrines ;  notwithstanding  he  has  ac- 
cused her  and  her  children  of  deifying  the  Roman  pontiffs, 
of  rendering  divine  worship  to  departed  saints  and  martyrs, 
of  purchasing  salvation  with  money,  of  placing  obstacles  in 
the  way  of  man's  salvation,  of  refusing  to  men  the  privilege 
of  praying  to  God,  or  to  Christ,  or  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  of 
soliciting  from  them  grace,  j^ardon,  and  redemption,  this 
Puritanical  writer  is  forced  to  make  the  following  admission : 
"But  first  let  us  pay  due  honor  to  the  Church  of  the  middle 
ages,  which  succeeded  that  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  fathers, 
and  which  j^receded  that  of  the  Reformers.  The  Church  was 
etill  the  Church,  although  fallen,  and  daily  more  and  more 

*  "History  of  the  Keformation,"  p.  29. 


FKUITS   OF   THE   EEFORMATION   IN   EUEOPE.  337 

enslaved ;  that  is  to  say,  she  was  always  the  greatest  friend 
of  man.  Her  hands,  though  bound,  could  still  be  raised  to 
bless.  Eminent  servants  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  were  true 
Protestants  as  regards  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
diffused  a  cheering  light  during  the  dark  ages,  and  in  the 
humblest  convent,  in  the  remotest  parish,  might  be  found 
poor  monks  and  poor  priests  to  alleviate  great  sufferings. 
The  Catholic  Church  was  not  the  papacy.  [Nor  has  it  ever 
been ;  the  papacy  is  merely  a  constituent  element  of  the 
Church.]  The  latter  was  the  oppressor,  the  former  the  op- 
pressed. The  Reformation,  which  declared  war  against  the 
one,  came  to  deliver  the  other.  And  it  must  be  confessed 
that  the  papacy  itself  became  at  times,  in  the  hands  of  God, 
who  brings  good  out  of  evil,  a  necessary  counterpoise  to  the 
power  and  ambition  of  princes."* 

The  inspired  apostle  declares  "  that  the  heart  of 
man  is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  desperately  wicked " 
by  nature.  It  is  conceded  that  this  was  the  condition  of  men 
before  as  .well  as  after  the  Reformation.  It  is  conceded  that 
there  were  many  wicked  Catholics,  many  individual  disor- 
ders and  corruptions  among  the  clergy,  and  many  dissensions 
and  wars  among  Catholic  rulers,  previous  to  the  religious 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century.  But  whoever  will  com- 
pare these  epochs,  these  men,  these  immoralities,  and  these 
contentions  and  wars,  with  those  of  the  last  three  hundred 
years,  regarding  the  circumstances  of  each  period,  will  find 
more  to  condemn  since  than  before  the  Reformation.  Cath- 
olics have  never  laid  claim  to  absolute  perfection,  or  to  any 
peculiar  immunities  from  temptation  and  sin,  through  the 
special  grace  of  God,  and  a  foreordained  election  to  salva- 
tion. The  entire  Catholic  system  recognizes  the  sad  fact  of 
man's  natural  perversity  and  proneness  to  violate  the  laws 
of  God  and  man ;  and  ail  her  doctrines  and  observances 
are  designed  to  correct  and  prevent  these  natural  tendencies 
of  erring  humanity. 

*  "History  of  tlie  Reformation,"  p.  10. 
15 


CHAPTEE  XXYI. 

FRUITS    OF    THE    REFORMATION    IN"    EUROPE. 

Influence  on  Morals^  Mcmyiers^  and  Society, 

To  a  great  extent,  the  religious  sentiment  of  a  commu- 
Jiity  governs  its  morals  and  manners.  Unity  of  faith,  a  uni- 
form mode  of  worship,  and  a  firm  reliance  on  those  great 
truths  which  Christ  communicated  to  the  apostles  and  their 
legitimate  successors,  are  important  barriers  against  immo- 
rality and  sin.  Man,  though  naturally  inclined  to  self-indul- 
gence, is  still  a  creature  of  habit  and  education,  and  his 
moral  being  is  formed  and  fixed  by  the  influences  which  ha- 
bitually encompass  him.  Take  from  him  the  restraints  which 
true  religion  imposes  upon  him,  and  deprive  him  of  the  po- 
tent aid  of  the  grace-giving  sacraments,  and  he  is  like  a  mari- 
ner at  sea,  without  chart  or  compass,  at  the  mercy  of  treach- 
erous winds  and  waves. 

The  fearful  error — or  rather  crime — of  the  German  rev- 
olutionists consisted  in  the  fact  that  they  abandoned  and  at- 
tacked the  very  Church  of  God  '/^se^,  instead  of  attacking  and 
of  attempting  to  reform  the  erring  members  of  the  Church. 
They  were  all  brethren  and  children  of  a  great  Christian 
family,  bound  together  by  the  most  sacred  ties,  owing 
allegiance  to  the  same  God,  subject  to  the  same  divine  laws, 
aspiring  to  the  same  heaven,  and  directed  to  "  be  careful  to 
keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace;  one  body 


FRUITS   OF   THE  EEFORMATION   IX   EUEOPE.  339 

and  one  Spirit,  as  you  are  called  in  one  Loj^e  of  your  voca- 
tion ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism."  * 

It  was  an  evil  hour  for  Christianity  when  this  sacred  com- 
pact was  rudely  ruptured,  and  the  raging  fires  of  schism  were 
lighted  within  the  Christian  household.  It  was  a  sad  epoch 
for  humanity  and  real  progress  when  the  marvellous  labors  of 
so  many  ages  were  trampled  upon  by  a  handful  of  rash  and 
fanatical  innovators. 

No  arguments  are  necessary  to  show  the  frightful  deteri- 
oration of  morals  and  manners  which  everywhere  followed  in 
the  track  of  the  Reformation  in  Europe.  The  simple  admis- 
sions of  the  leading  innovators  themselves  contain  the  most 
amjile  and  conclusive  testimony  upon  this  point.  Xot  one 
additional  word  need  be  uttered  in  proof  of  the  lamentable 
consequences  of  the  Reformation  upon  the  entire  fabric  of 
European  society.  Under  the  pretext  of  liberating  mind  and 
conscience  from  the  rigid  discipline  of  tlie  Church — from  the 
tyrannies  of  the  priesthood — a  loose  rein  was  given  to  all 
the  evil  propensities  and  passions  of  the  heart.  Under  the 
appellation  of  "  religious  freedom,"  every  species  of  irreligion, 
licentiousness,  and  crime,  was  continually  committed.  Skep- 
ticism or  Indiflferentism  very  generally  usurped  the  place  of 
religious  faith,  and  the  natural  promptings  of  men  dominated 
over  their  actions  and  their  lives.  All  the  wholesome  re- 
straints and  checks  of  the  church  were  set  aside,  and  each 
one  arrogated  to  himself  the  office  of  interpreter,  censor,  and 
judge  of  every  thing  sacred  and  profane.  Nearly  all  respect 
for  the  Christian  religion  was  lost ;  Churches  Avere  repeatedly 
desecrated  and  destroyed.  The  portraits  and  statues  of  the 
Saviour,  of  His  beloved  mother,  and  of  His  holy  apostles,  and 
the  symbols  of  the  crucifixion,  were  rudely  torn  from  their 
places,  scoficd  at  and  burnt.  All  of  those  objects  and 
ceremonials  winch  had  been  employed  by  the  Church  to 
remind  the  faithful  of  the  life  and  marvellous  career  of  Christ 
in  behalf  of  alien  man,  were  ridiculed,  and  not  unfrequcntly 
prohil)itcd  by  force ;  and  the   bishops,  priests,  monks,  and 

*  Ephes.  17.,  3. 


340  CHEISTIAIOTY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

nnns,  were  driven  from  their  cliurclies  and  monasteries,  forced 
from  place  to  place  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  or  summarily 
suspended,  and  often  murdered  in  cold  blood.  As  time 
passed  on,  and  these  fanatical  passions  became  more  and 
more,  developed,  counter-sentiments  were  excited  in  the 
breasts  of  those  Avho  had  remained  faithful  to  their  religion. 
Gradually  the  powers  of  evil  advanced ;  day  by  day  the 
madness  and  violence  of  the  innovators  increased,  until  the 
natural  and  final  culmination  was  reached  in  the  form  of  a 
bloody  civil  war.  !N^umerous  facts  might  be  cited  from 
nearly  all  of  the  leading  Reformers  to  prove  that  wherever 
the  Keformation  became  established,  a  universal  deterioration 
of  morals,  and  civil  wars,  have  always  occurred.  Fornication, 
adultery,  avarice,  drunkenness,  strife,  and  divorces  became 
so  common  among  the  followers  of  the  new  religionists,  that 
modesty  and  virtue  were  scoffed  at  as  antiquated  and  po- 
pish weaknesses,  calculated  to  repress  and  enslave  the  tender- 
er emotions  of  the  heart.  The  Catholic  superstitions  of  the 
celibacy  of  the  priesthood,  of  cleaving  to  one  wife,  and  of 
bestowing  the  aftections  upon  a  single  woman,  were  denounced 
as  priestly  devices  to  enslave  the  human  heart  with  all  its 
gushing  emotions  and  passions.  Luther,  Melancthon,  Bucer, 
John  of  Leyden,  Munzer,  and  Cranmer  all  practically  sanc- 
tioned a  plurality  of  wives,  as  the  instances  already  enumer- 
ated testify.  These  loose  and  reformed  views  of  the  marriage 
relation  led  legitimately  and  naturally  to  a  wide-spread 
divorce-mania.  Commencing  in  high  places,  with  Philip, 
landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  Henry  VHI.,  king  of  England,  it 
soon  pervaded  all  classes  of  Protestant  society,  shaking  to 
tlieii'  very  foundations  the  fundamental  principles  of  virtue 
and  morality.  In  allusion  to  this  subject,  a  writer  in  the 
"  Dublin  Review,"  for  September,  1848,  thus  observes :  "  The 
practice  of  divorce,  too,  was  in  every  reformed  country  an 
immediate  consequence  of  the  Reformation ;  and  if  there 
were  no  other  evidence  of  the  connection  between  the  intro- 
duction of  the  new  religion  and  this  frightful  deterioration 
of  morals,  it  would  be  found  in  the  numberless  laws  against 


FEurrs  OF  THE  kefoemation  in  EUEorE.  S4:l 

adulteiy,  fornication,  bigamy,  etc..  which  date  from  this 
period,  and  the  frequent  and  flagrant  convictions  and  sen- 
tences under  these  laws  in  every  Protestant  j^rovince  of 
Germany." 

In  illustration  of  the  assertions  we  have  made  respecting 
the  influence  of  the  Reformation  upon  morals,  manners,  and 
society,  we  cite  the  following  extracts  from  the  "  Dublin  Re- 
view," of  September,  1848,  Spaulding's  "  History  of  the  Prot- 
estant Reformation,"  Bollinger's  "  German  History,"  and 
from  authentic  works  of  the  Reformers  themselves.  The  facts 
contained  in  the  "  Dublin  Review,"  giving  the  opinions  Of 
Luther  and  others  resj^ecting  the  moral  results  of  the  Refor- 
mation, are  derived  chiefly  from  the  work  of  Dollinger. 
Our  limits  enable  us  to  present  only  a  few  of  the  vast  number 
of  facts  bearing  upon  this  subject ;  but  as  they  are  mostly 
from  the  mouths  of  the  innovators  themselves,  their  authen- 
ticity will  not  be  questioned,  and  they  may  fairly  be  regarded 
as  truthful  types  of  many  others  which  might  be  adduced : 

"  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  testimonies  which  we 
have  hitherto  alleged,  or  the  great  mass  of  those  collected  by 
the  author,  describe  the  social  condition  but  of  a  portion  of 
Germany  under  the  Reformation.  There  is  not  a  single 
locality  which  has  not  its  witness — Saxony,  Hesse,  Nassau, 
Brandenburg,  Strasburg,  Nurenburg,  Stralsund,  Thorn, 
Mecklenburg,  Westphalia,  Pomerania,  Friesland,  Denmark, 
Sweden — and  all,  or  almost  all,  are  represented  by  natives,  or 
at  least  residents  familiar  with  the  true  state  of  society,  and 
if  not  directly  interested  in  concealing,  certainly  not  liable  to 
the  suspicion  of  any  disposition  to  exaggerate  its  short-com- 
ings or  its  crimes. 

"Indeed,  the  connection  between  the  progress  of  Lutlier- 
anism  and  the  corruption  of  public  morals  could  not  possibly 
be  put  more  strikingly  than  in  the  words  of  John  Belz,  a 
Protestant  minister  of  AUerstadt,  in  Thuringia  (1566).  '  If 
you  would  find,'  says  Belz,  *  a  multitude  of  brutal,  coarse, 
godless  people,  among  whom  every  species  of  sin  is  every  day 
in  full  career,  go  into  a  city  where  the  holy  gospel  is  taught. 


34:2  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

and  where  the  best  preachers  are  to  be  met,  and  there  you 
will  be  sure  to  find  them  in  abundance.  To  be  pious  and 
upright  (for  which  God  praises  Job),  is  nowadays  held,  if 
not  to  be  a  sin,  at  least  a  downright  folly;  and  from  many 
pulpits  it  is  proclaimed  that  good  works  are  not  only  unne- 
cessary, but  hurtful  to  the  soul.' "  * 

Menzel  has  detailed  at  great  length  the  pernicious  influ- 
ences of  the  Reformation  upon  the  morals  and  manners  of  the 
princes,  nobles,  and  people  of  Germany.  He  acknowledges 
that  rulers,  ministers,  and  subjects,  in  embracing  the  inno- 
vations of  the  Reformers,  rushed  into  almost  every  conceiv- 
able vice  and  immorality.  Erasmus,  the  intimate  friend  of 
Luther  and  Melancthon  thus  corroborates  the  assertions  of 
Menzel :  "  Those  whom  I  had  known  to  be  pure,  full  of  can- 
dor and  simplicity,  these  same  persons  have  I  seen  afterward, 
when  they  had  gone  over  to  the  sect  (the  gospellers)  begin 
to  speak  of  girls,  flocked  to  games  of  hazard,  throw  aside 
j^rayer,  give  themselves  up  entirely  to  their  interests ;  be- 
come the  most  impatient,  vindictive,  and  frivolous ;  changed, 
in  fact,  from  men  to  vipers.  I  know  well  what  I  say.  ...  I 
see  many  Lutherans,  but  few  evangelicals.  Look  a  little  at 
these  people,  and  say  whether  luxury,  avarice,  and  lewdness 
do  not  prevail  still  more  among  them  than  among  those 
whom  they  detest.  Show  me  one  who  by  means  of  this  gos- 
pel is  become  better.  I  will  show  you  very  many  who  have 
become  worse.  Perhaps  it  has  been  my  bad  fortune ;  but 
I  have  seen  none  who  have  not  become  worse  by  their  gos- 
pel." t 

"  Our  evangelists,"  says  Luther,  "  are  now  sevenfold  more 
wicked  than  they  were  before  the  Reformation.  In  23roportion 
as  we  hear  the  gospel,  we  steal,  lie,  cheat,  gorge,  swill,  and 
commit  every  crime.  If  one  devil  has  been  driven  out  of  us, 
seven  worse  ones  have  taken  their  place,  to  judge  of  the 
conduct  of  princes,  lords,  nobles,  burgesses,  and  peasants 
— their  utterly  shameless  acts,  and  their  disregard  of  God 

*  "  Dublin  Review,"  of  September,  1848. 
\  Epist.  Tractibus  GermauiaB  infcrioris. 


FEUITS   OF   THE   EEFOEMATION   IN    EUEOPE.  343 

and  His  menaces.  Under  the  papacy,  men  were  charitable, 
and  gave  freely ;  but  now,  under  the  gospel,  all  alms-giving 
is  at  an  end,  every  one  fleeces  his  neighbor,  and  each  seeks 
to  have  all  for  himself.  And  the  longer  the  gospel  is  preached, 
the  deeper  do  men  sink  in  avarice,  jmde,  and  ostentation.  The 
peasants,  through  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  have  become 
utterly  beyond  restraint,  and  think  they  may  do  what  they 
please.  They  no  longer  fear  either  hell  or  purgatory,  but  con- 
tent themselves  with  saying,  '  I  helieve,  therefore  I  shall  be 
saved ;  and  they  become  proud,  stiff-necked  mammonists, 
and  accursed  misers,  sucking  the  very  substance  of  the 
country  and  the  people."  Up  to  the  very  last  year  of  his 
life  (1542)  Luther  continued  to  write  in  a  similar  manner. 
Writing  to  a  friend  in  1542,  he  assures  him  "that  he  had  al- 
most abandoned  all  hope  for  Germany,  so  universal  had 
avarice,  usury,  tyranny,  disunion,  and  the  whole  host  of  un- 
truth, wickedness,  and  treachery,  as  well  as  disregard  of  the 
word  of  God  and  the  most  unheard-of  ingratitude,  taken 
possession  of  the  nobility,  the  courts,  the  towns,  and  the  vil- 
lages." In  March,  1542,  he  again  writes  "  that  his  only  hope 
is  in  the  near  approach  of  the  last  day — the  world  has  be- 
come so  barbarous,  so  tired  of  the  word  of  God,  and  enter- 
tains so  thorough  a  disgust  for  it."  In  October,  1542,  he 
declares  "  that  he  is  tired  of  living  in  this  hideous  Sodom ; 
that  all  the  good  which  he  had  hoped  to  effect  has  vanished 
away ;  that  there  remains  naught  but  a  deluge  of  sin  and  un- 
holiness,  and  nothing  is  left  for  him  but  to  pray  for  his  dis- 
charge. .  .  .  Alas,"  he  cried  to  the  Prince  of  Anhalt, "  we  live 
in  Babylon  and  Sodom.  Every  thing  is  growing  worse  and 
worse  each  day."  Just  before  his  death  he  wrote  to  his  wife 
thus  :  "  Let  us  fly  from  this  Sodom  (Wittenberg).  I  will  Avandcr 
through  the  w^orld,  and  beg  my  bread  from  door  to  door,  rath- 
er than  to  embitter  and  disturb  my  poor  old  last  days  by  this 
spectacle  of  the  disorder  of  Wittenberg,  and  the  fruitlessness 
of  my  bitter  toil  in  its  service.  .  .  .  The  world,"  again  writes 
Luther,  "  grows  worse  and  worse,  and  becomes  more  wicked 
every  day.     Men  are  now  more  given  to  revenge,  more  ava- 


344:  CHEISTIAOTTY   AND  ITS   CONFLICTS. 

ricious,  more  devoid  of  mercy,  less  modest  and  more  Incor- 
rigible— in  fine,  more  wicked  than  in  the  papacy.  .  .  .  One 
thing,  no  less  astonishing  than  scandalous,  is  to  see  that,  since 
the  pure  doctrine  of  the  gospel  has  been  brought  to  light,  the 
world  daily  goes  from  bad  to  worse."  *  "  Since  the  dovvaifall 
of  popery,  and  the  cessation  of  its  excommunications  and 
spiritual  penalties,  the  people  have  learned  to  despise  the 
word  of  God.  They  care  no  longer  for  the  churches*,  they 
have  ceased  to  fear  and  to  honor  God."  f  "  The  noblemen  and 
the  peasants,"  he  again  declares,  "  have  come  to  such  a  pitch 
that  they  live  as  they  believe ;  they  are,  and  continue  to  be, 
swine  ;  they  live  like  swine  and  they  die  like  real  swine."  ^ 

Bucer  wrote  as  follows  :  "  The  greater  part  of  the  people 
seem  to  have  embraced  the  gospel  [the  Reformation  ?]  only 
in  order  to  shake  off  the  yoke  of  discipline,  and  the  obligation 
of  fasting,  penances,  etc.,  which  lay  upon  them  in  the  time  of 
popery,  and  to  live  at  their  pleasure,  enjoying  their  lust  and 
lawless  appetite  without  control.  They  therefore  lend  a 
willing  ear  to  the  doctrine  that  we  are  justified  by  faith 
alone,  and  not  by  good  works,  having  no  relish  for  them."  § 
"Most  of  the  preachers,"  again  v/rites  Bucer,  "imagine  ih?it 
if  they  inveigh  stoutly  against  the  anti-Christians  [papists], 
and  chatter  away  on  a  few  unimportant,  fruitless  questions, 
and  then  assail  their  brethren  also,  they  have  discharged 
their  duty  admirably.  Following  this  example,  the  people, 
as  soon  as  they  know  how  to  attack  our  adversaries,  and  to 
prate  a  little  about  things  far  from  edifying,  believe  that 
they  are  perfect  Christians.  Meanwhile,  there  is  nowhere  to 
be  seen  modesty,  charity,  zeal,  or  ardor  for  God's  glory;  and 
in  consequence  of  our  conduct,  God's  lioly  name  is  every 
where  subjected  to  horrible  blasphemies."  || 

Calvin  thus  alludes  to  his  followers  :  "  The  pastors,  yes, 
the  pastors  themselves  who  mount  the  pul^^it.  .  .  are  at  the 

*  Luther  in  Postilla,  sup.  Dom.  Ad..  See  also,  "  Dublin  Ecview,"  Sept.,  1848. 

f  Luther,  Werke,  Ed.  Alt,,  torn,  iii.,  p.  519. 

X  "  Table-Talk,"  Sup.  i.,  Ep.  Cor.,  ch.  xv. 

§  " Dc  Kcguo  Christi."  U  "Dublin  Review,"  Sept.,  1848. 


FnUlTS   OF   THE   EEFOHMATION   IN   EDEOPE.  Si5 

present  time  the  most  shameful  examples  of  Avaywardiiess 
and  other  vices.  Hence  their  sermons  obtain  neither  more 
credit  nor  authority  than  the  fictitious  tales  uttered  on  the 
stage  by  the  strolling  player.  ...  I  am  astonished  that  the 
women  and  children  do  not  cover  them  with  mud  and  filth."  * 

"  In  these  latter  times,"  writes  Melancthon,  "  the  world 
has  taken  to  itself  a  boundless  license  ;  very  many  are  so  un- 
bridled as  to  throio  off  every  bond  of  discipline^  though  at  the 
same  tione  they  pretend  that  they  have  faith^  that  they  invoke 
God  with  a  truer  fervor  of  heart,  and  that  they  are  lively 
and  elect  members  of  the  Church ;  living,  meanwhile,  in  truly 
Cyclopean  indiflerence  and  barbarism,  and  in  slavish  subjec- 
tion to  the  devil,  who  drives  them  to  adulteries,  murders,  and 
otlier  atrocious  crimes.  .  .  .  Men  receive  with  avidity  the  in- 
flammatory harangues  which  exaggerate  liberty  and  give 
loose  rein  to  the  passions ;  as,  for  example,  the  cynical,  rather 
than  the  Christian  principle,  which  denies  the  necessity  of 
good  works.  Posterity  will  stand  amazed  that  a  generation 
should  ever  have  existed,  in  which  these  ravings  have  been 
received  with  applause.  i>rever,  in  the  days  of  our  fathers, 
had  there  existed  such  gluttony  as  exists  now,  and  is  daily 
on  the  increase.  The  morals  of  the  people,  all  that  they  do, 
and  all  that  they  neglect  to  do,  are  becoming  every  day 
worse.  Gluttony,  debauchery,  licentiousness,  wantonness, 
are  gaining  the  upper  hand  more  and  more  among  the  people, 
and  in  one  word,  every  one  does  just  as  he  pleases." 

"  The  children,"  says  Caulman,  "  are  habituated  to  de- 
bauchery by  their  parents,  and  tlms  comes  an  endless  train 
of  diseases,  seductions,  murders,  robberies,  and  thefts,  whicli, 
unhappily,  owing  to  the  state  of  society,  are  committed  with 
security.  And  the  worst  of  all  is,  that  they  are  not  ashamed 
to  palliate  their  conduct  by  the  examples  of  Xoah,  Lot, 
David,  and  others." 

"Take  any  class  you  please,"  says  Dietrich,  "high  or 
low,  you  will  find  all  equally  degenerate  and  corrupt.  What 
is  more,  tliere  is  no  longer  any  social  honesty  to  be  found 

*  LIv.  i.,  Sur  Ics  Seamlalc?,  p.  128. 
15* 


34:6  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

among  the  people.  The  majority  persecute  the  gospel,  and 
cling  to  the  old  idolatry.  The  rest,  who  have  received  God's 
word  and  gosj^el,  are  also  lawless,  insensible  to  instruction, 
hardened  in  their  old  sinful  life,  as  is  evident  from  the  whore- 
dom, adultery,  usury,  avarice,  lying,  cheating,  and  manifold 
wickedness  which  prevail." 

Oh,  that  we  had  a  few  modern  Luthers,  and  Melancthons, 
and  Bucers,  and  Calvins  to  drag  before  the  public  gaze  the 
fearful  demoralization  of  their  followers  and  preachers  of  the 
present  day !  Could  these  men  again  come  to  earth  they 
might  still  behold  in  these  United  States,  among  the  minis- 
ters of  nearly  all  the  sects,  the  same  hideous  vices,  the  same 
wicked  propensities,  the  same  malignant  hatred^  the  same  de- 
sire for  revenge,  the  same  thirst  for  jDower,  riches,  and 
luxury,  and  the  same  disregard  for  the  merciful  and  fraternal 
precepts  of  Jesus,  which  they  so  strenuously  denounced  in 
their  innovating  brethren  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They 
might  everywhere  behold  pulpits  converted  into  political 
and  partisan  tribunes,  from  whence  hatred,  discord,  and  sec- 
tional bitterness  are  continually  preached  under  the  garb  of 
religion.  They  might  behold  thousands  of  their  most  gifted 
ministers,  for  years  in  succession,  habitually  desecrating  the 
Sabbath  by  preaching  political  discourses,  and  implanting  in 
the  minds  of  their  deluded  hearers  sentiments  of  hate  and 
vengeance  against  their  fellow-men,  instead  of  those  of  love, 
charity,  and  forgiveness.  They  might  also  witness  the 
frightful  deterioration  of  morals,  the  corruptions,  and  the 
wide-spread  desolations  which  these  diabolical  sentiments 
have  conduced  to  fasten  upon  our  war-stricken  people. 

"There  is  one  branch  of  this  subject,"  remarks  the  writer 
in  the  Dublin  Review  already  alluded  to,  "  which  we  do  not 
approach  without  great  repugnance,  but  which,  nevertheless, 
it  Avould  be  most  unhistorical  to  overlook,  because  there  is 
none  in  which  the  working  of  the  positive  teaching  of  the 
Reformers  is  so  palpably  and  unmistakably  recognized.  We 
refer  to  the  avowed  and  undeniable  deterioration  of  public 
morality — the  indifference  to  the  maintenance  of  chastity,  to 


FEUITS    OF   THE    EEFOEMATION   IN    EUROPE.  34:7 

the  observance  of  the  mamagc  a^ow,  and  indeed  to  the  com- 
monest decencies  of  life,  by  Avhich  the  spread  of  Lutheranism 
was  uniformly  and  instantaneously  followed.  We  cannot 
bring  oui-selves  to  pollute  our  pages  with  the  hateful  and 
atrocious  doctrines  of  Luther,*  of  Sarcerius,f  Dresser,];  Bu- 
gcnhagen,§  and  many  others,||  founded  ujDon  what  they  al- 
lege to  be  the  physical  impossibility  of  observing  continence, 
which  results  from  the  original  constitution  of  the  sexes  as 
ordained  by  God  ;  but  we  are  necessitated  to  allude  to  them, 
in  order  to  establish  beyond  question  the  connection  of  tliese 
doctrines  (which,  it  must  be  remembered,  Avere  enforced  by 
Luther  chiefly  in  his  German  Tracts  and  Sermons  addressed 
to  the  entire  people)  with  the  moral  consequences  which  we 
shall  proceed  to  detail,  as  briefly  and  as  slightly  as  circum- 
stances will  permit,  in  the  words  of  the  authorities  collected 
in  the  pages  before  us.  Nothing  can  be  more  revolting  tljan 
the  picture  of  univei'sal  and  unrestrained  depravity  which 
they  reveal."  For  additional  facts  upon  this  subject,  we 
refer  the  reader  to  the  writings  of  the  Reformers  themselves, 
and  to  to  the  writers  before  referred  to. 

We  have  presented  a  few  of  the  legitimate  results  of  the 
Puritan  system,  as  established  by  the  Reformers  in  Germany. 
The  same  sad  results  have  invariably  followed  these  doc- 
trines wherever  they  have  taken  root.  In  Switzerland, 
France,  Sweden,  Denmark,  England,  and  the  United  States, 
a  general  and  permanent  decline  in  public  morality  and  vir- 
tue followed  the  various  and  conflicting  novelties  of  the  sects. 
The  scope  of  this  work  will  liot  allow  us  to  submit  in  detail 
the  vast  array  of  facts  pertaining  to  this  branch  of  our  sub- 
ject with  reference  to  the  other  countries  enumerated ;  but  a 
simple  perusal  of  the  standard  histories  of  each  nation  will 
amply  corroborate  our  assertion.  As  we  advance,  other  re- 
sults of  the  Puritan  system,  no  less  calamitous  in  their  char- 
acter than  those  already  alluded  to,  will  become  manifest. 

In  the  first  years  of  his  innovatmg  career,  Luther  depre- 

'*  Deillingcr'S  "  Hist,  of  Germany,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  428,  429.     f  Ibid.,  p.  431. 
X  Ibid.,  p.  432.  §  Ibid.,  p.  434.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  431. 


348  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

cated  the  use  of  arms  in  the  establishment  of  his  new  doc- 
trines. He  confined  himself  for  the  most  part  to  violent 
denunciations  of  the  pope,  of  the  clergy,  of  all  opposing 
rulers,  and  of  all  laws  which  opposed  a  barrier  to  his  am- 
bitious designs.  In  his  work  on  "Christian  Liberty,"  he 
urged  the  populace  to  be  governed  solely  by  their  own  pri- 
vate and  personal  ideas  respecting  religion,  morals,  govern- 
ment, laws,  and  spiritual  and  temporal  rulers.  These  inflam- 
matory appeals  to  the  ignorant  multitude  incited  within 
them  a  spirit  of  insubordination  and  discontent,  not  only 
against  the  ancient  religion,  but  against  the  existing  govern- 
ment and  their  legitimate  rulers.  Among  the  first  fruits  of 
this  incendiary  publication  was  the  "  War  of  the  Peasants." 
In  the  first  instance,  Luther  wrote  a  letter  of  encouragement 
to  the  forty  thousand  rustic  insurgents,  sustaining  them  in 
their  revolt ;  but  he  afterward  wrote  another  letter  to  the 
princes,  who  had  now  thoroughly  prepared  themselves  for 
resistance,  to  exterminate  without  mercy  these  wretched  rehels. 
This  first  civil  war,  inaugurated  under  the  influence  of  the 
Puritan  system,  occurred  in  1525.  "  In  15^5-'26  the  terrible 
war  of  the  peasants  took  place  in  Germany,  and  penetrated 
even  into  Switzerland.  It  had  certainly  grown  out  of  the 
revolutionary  principles  broached  by  the  Reformers,  and  it 
was  headed  by  Protestant  preachers,  as  Ruchat,  himself  a 
preacher,  admits  in  the  the  following  passage :  '  Having  at 
their  head  the  preachers  of  the  reform^  they  jDillaged,  rav- 
aged, massacred,  and  burned  eveiy  thing  that  fell  into  their 
hands.'"*  In  1528  the  Lutherans,  under  Philip,  the  land- 
grave of  Hesse,  took  up  arms  to  subjugate  the  Catholic 
princes  who  had  opposed  the  extension  of  their  innovations. 
Their  anger  Avas  especially  directed  against  George,  duke  of 
Saxe ;  but  by  means  of  large  sums  of  money  paid  to  Philij>, 
the  Catholic  rulers  succeeded  in  temporarily  postponing 
actual  hostilities. 

After  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  in  1531,  the  Protestants,  at 
the  instigation  of  Luther,  Bucer,  and  Zwinglius,  formed  thfe 

*  Spaulding's  ''History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  186. 


FRUITS   OF   THE   KEFOEMATION   IN   EUROPE.  349 

league  of  Smalcalde,  and  formally  resolved  to  go  to  war  for 
the  extension  and  support  of  tlieir  doctrines.  In  Switzer- 
land the  Protestant  cantons,  under  the  leadership  of  Zwing- 
lius,  attacked  the  Catholic  cantons  with  the  utmost  ferocity. 
It  was  in  one  of  these  bloody  civil  battles  that  tlie  Puritan 
minister — the  Reformer — the  so-called  follower  of  the  Prince 
of  peace,  Zwinglius,  fell,  sword  in  hand,  in  the  act  of 
slaughtering  his  fellow-men  and  countrymen.  Although 
Luther,  in  the  first  instance,  had  declared  that  no  means  but 
arguments  and  moral  suasion  should  be  employed  in  the 
propagation  of  his  novel  opinions,  yet  from  this  time  until 
his  death  he  gave  his  authonty  and  sanction  to  military  co- 
ercion. These  warlike  sentiments  were  opposed  by  Melanc- 
thon,  but  all  moderate  counsels  were  set  at  naught  by  the 
violent  and  sanguinaiy  partisans  of  Luther  and  Zwinglius. 

In  1545,  one  year  before  his  death,  Luther  again  incited 
his  partisans  to  take  up  arms  against  the  pope  and  all  who 
presumed  to  adhere  to  the  Catholic  faith.  In  his  insane 
violence  he  denounces  the  pope  as  "  an  enraged  wolf,  a  fero- 
cious beast,  and  those  who  defend  him  as  soldiers  of  a  brigand 
chief,  against  whom  the  whole  world  ought  to  take  up  arms, 
and  pursue  to  the  death." 

Concerning  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland,  we  cannot 
present  an  outline  of  the  facts  better  than  to  cite  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  Spaulding's  "History  of  the  Protestant  Reforma- 
tion." 

"The  same  great  features  marked  both  revolutions,  with 
this  only  difference,  that  the  Swiss  were  more  radical  and 
thorough  than  the  German.  Like  the  Gennan,  however, 
its  progress  was  everywhere  signalized  by  dissensions,  civil 
commotions,  rapine,  violence,  and  bloodshed.  And,  like  the 
German,  it  was  also  indebted  for  its  permanent  establishment 
to  the  interposition  of  the  civil  authorities The  Ref- 
ormation found  the  thirteen  Swiss  cantons  united,  and  in 
peace  among  themselves  and  with  all  the  world.  It  sowed 
dissension  among  them,  and  plunged  them  into  a  fierce  and 
protracted  civil  war,  which  threatened  rudely  to  pluck  up 


350  CHRISTIANITY   AKD   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

by  the  roots  the  venerable  tree  of  liberty  which,  centuries 
before,  their  Catholic  forefathers  had  planted  and  watered 
with  their  blood !  .  .  .  .  The  consequences  of  this  attempt  to 
subvert  the  national  faith  by  violence  were  most  disastrous. 
The  harmony  of  the  old  Swiss  republic  was  destroyed,  and 
the  angel  of  peace  departed  forever  from  the  hills  and  the 
valleys  of  that  romantic  country.  That  this  picture  is  not 
too  highly  colored  the  following  brief  summary  of  facts  will 
prove : 

"  The  four  cantons  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Schaffhausen,  and 
Basle,  which  first  embraced  the  Beformation,  began  very 
soon  thereafter  to  give  evidence  of  their  turbulent  spirit. 
They  formed  a  league  against  the  cantons  which  still  re- 
solved to  adhere  to  the  Catholic  faith.  One  article  of  their 
alliance  forbade  any  of  the  confederates  to  transport  provi- 
sions to  the  Catholic  cantons.  Arms  were  in  consequence 
taken  up  on  both  sides,  and  a  bloody  contest  ensued.  Ul- 
rich  Zwinglius,  the  father  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland, 
marched  with  the  troops  of  the  Protestant  party,  and  fell, 
bravely  fighting  with  them  *  the  battles  of  the  Lord,'  on  the 
11th  of  October,  1531."* 

De  Haller,  a  native  of  Berne,  and  a  standard  historian, 
thus  characterizes  the  progress  of  the  Reformation  in  Swit- 
zerland: "During  the  years  1529,  1530,  and  1531,  Switzer- 
land found  herself  in  a  frightful  condition,  and  altogether 
similar  to  that  of  which  we  are  now  witnesses,  three  centu- 
ries later.  Nothing  was  seen  everywhere  but  hatred,  broils, 
and  acts  of  violence ;  everywhere  reigned  discord  and  divi- 
sion ;  discord  between  the  cantons,  discord  in  the  bosom  of 
the  governments,  discord  between  sovereigns  and  subjects, 
in  fine,  discord  and  division  even  in  CA^ery  parish  and  in 
every  family.  The  defection  of  Berne,  at  which  the  Zurich- 
ers  had  labored  for  six  years,  had  unchained  the  audacity  of 
all  the  meddlers  and  bad  men  in  Switzerland.  On  all  sides 
new  revolutions  broke  out ;  at  Basle,  at  St.  Gall,  at  Brienne, 
at  Thurgovia,  at  Frauenfeld,  at  Mellingen,  at  Bremgarten, 

*  "  History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  168. 


FRUITS    OF   THE   EEFOKMATION   IN   EUKOPE.  351 

even  at  Gastcr,  and  in  tlic  Toggenburg,  at  Ilerissau,  at  Wet- 
tingen,  and  finally  at  Scbaffliausen.  .  .  .  Thus  one  party  de- 
clared an  implacable  war  against  their  fellow-citizens  and 
every  thing  that  is  sacred,  w^hile  the  other  was  condemned 
to  suffer  without  resistance  all  manner  of  injuries,  all  manner 
of  hostilities ;  and  this  state  of  triumphant  iniquity,  and  of 
miserable  servitude,  Avas  qualified  by  the  fine  name  of  peace. 
Everywhere,  except  at  Schaffhausen,  a  city  which  was  al- 
w^ays  distinguished  for  its  tranquillity,  and  the  peaceful  char- 
acter of  its  inhabitants,  seditious  armed  mobs  rushed  of  their 
own  accord  to  the  churches,  broke  down  the  altars,  burnt  the 
images,  destroyed  the  most  magnificent  monuments  of  art, 
pillaged  the  sacred  vases,  as  w^ell  as  other  objects  of  value, 
and  put  ujD  for  public  sale  at  auction  the  sacred  vestments  ; 
by  such  vandalism,  and  by  such  sacrileges,  was  the  religious 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century  signalized."* 

For  more  than  twenty  years  this  condition  of  anarchy 
and  civil  war,  under  the  pretext  of  religion,  was  kept  up  by 
the  Puritan  radicals  of  Switzerland.  "  The  intolerance  of 
the  Protestant  party,"  says  Bishop  Spaulding,  "  was  sur- 
passed only  by  its  utter  inconsistency.  The  glorious  j^rivi- 
leges  of  priv^ate  judgment,  of  liberty  of  conscience,  and  liber- 
ty of  the  press,  were  forever  on  their  lips,  and  yet  they  reck- 
lessly trampled  them  all  under  their  feet !  Each  one  w^as  to 
interpret  the  Bible  for  himself,  and  yet  he  who  dared  inter- 
pret it  differently  from  their  excellencies,  the  councilloi-s  of 
Berne,  was  punished  as  an  enemy  of  the  government !  .  .  .  . 
Catholics  were  not  the  only  ones  who  felt  the  smart  of  Prot- 
estant intolerance  in  Switzerland.  Brother  Protestants  were 
also  persecuted,  if  they  had  the  misfortune  to  believe  either 
more  or  less  than  their  more  enlightened  brethren,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  orthodox  for  the  time  heing.  The  Anabaptists, 
in  particular,  were  hunted  down  with  a  ferocity  which  is 
almost  inconceivable.  The  favorite  mode  of  punishing  them, 
especially  at  Berne,  was  by  droioning !  This  manner  of 
death  was  deemed  the  most  appropriate,  because  it  was  only 

*  De  Hallcr,  pp.  G2-G4. 


352  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

baptizing  them  in  their  own  way !  "  *  De  Haller  asserts  that 
a  common  mode  of  pmiishment  was  to  "subject  them  to 
perpetual  imprisonment  on  bread  and  water.'''' 

N"ot  only  De  Haller,  but  many  eminent  Protestant  histo- 
rians, like  Kuchat,  Mallet,  Capito,  Sartorius,  and  Spon,  admit 
that  the  Puritan  system  was  introduced  and  established  in 
Switzerland  by  force  of  arms.  It  is  true  that  actual  war 
was  usually  preceded  by  insidious  agitations,  by  industrious- 
ly circulated  falsehoods,  by  low  appeals  to  avaiice,  passion, 
hatred,  and  the  baser  emotions  of  the  heart ;  but  these  were 
only  pioneers  in  the  grand  revolutionary  movement — ^the  ad- 
vance-guards of  the  bloody  demon  of  Reformation,  which 
secretly  crouched  in  the  background,  ready  to  pounce  upon 
its  victims  with  lire  and  sword. 

Under  the  reigns  of  Francis  I.,  Henry  H.,  Francis  H., 
and  Charles  IX.,  the  Puritan  system,  under  the  direction  of 
Calvin  and  Farel,  with  other  leaders,  gained  a  foothold  in 
France.  During  the  firm  rule  of  the  first  two  monarchs,  the 
innovators  were  only  able  to  sow  insidiously  the  seeds  of 
discord,  sedition,  and  civil  strife.  But  under  the  latter  kings 
the  mask  was  thrown  oflT,  and  the  Puritan  system,  in  all 
its  hideous  intolerance  and  cruelty,  manifested  itself.  At  the 
instigation  of  the  violent  emissaries  of  Calvin,  who  were 
excited  to  ferocity  by  the  blood  which  their  brethren  had 
already  shed  in  Germany  and  Switzerland,  civil  war  com- 
menced in  France.  ISTearly  all  the  provinces  and  cities 
which  were  cursed  by  the  presence  of  these  sanguinary  agi- 
tators, were  deluged  with  fraternal  blood,  and  devastated. 
Every  tyranny  and  oppression  which  hatred,  vengeance,  and 
fanaticism  could  devise,  were  heaped  nj^on  the  Catholics  by 
these  ferocious  fatalists  of  this  branch  of  the  Reformation.  As 
Bossuet  remarks :  "  They  not  only  lighted  up  war  in  all 
the  towns  and  provinces,  but  they  invited  strangers  from  all 
parts  into  the  midst  of  France,  as  to  a  conquered  country, 
and  reduced  this  flourishing  realm  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  with- 
out ever  ceasing  to  prosecute  the  war,  even  after  the  people 

*  "  History  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,"  p.  194. 


FEUrrS    OF   THE   REFORMATION   IN    EUROPE.  353 

had  been  subjugated,  their  defences  destroyed,  and  all  ability 
to  resist  had  ceased."  * 

Who  can  avoid  marking  the  parallel  between  these 
French  Puritans  and  the  present  Puritans  of  New  England, 
in  tlieir  j^olicy  and  treatment  of  the  subjugated  and  im- 
poA'erished  Southern  people  ?  Were  those  Calvinistic  drag- 
ons of  the  sixteenth  century  any  more  vindictive  and  cruel 
than  are  those  of  this  epoch  ?  Impartial  history  will  respond 
in  the  negative. 

In  1559,  under  the  reign  of  Francis  II.,  the  Puritans  had 
obtained  such  a  foothold  in  France  as  to  enable  them  to 
commence  in  earnest  their  revolutionary  schemes.  Instigated 
by  Calvin  and  other  Swiss  Puritans,  the  Huguenots  plotted 
the  well-known  conspiracy  of  Amboise,  having  for  its  object 
the  seizure  of  the  government,  the  degradation  of  the  Duke 
of  Guise,  and  the  accession  to  his  place  of  some  partisan  who 
would  promote  their  religious  and  political  designs.  This 
conspiracy  resulted  in  a  civil  war  under  the  leadership  of 
Renaudie ;  but  the  traitors  were  defeated  by  the  forces  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise,  and  the  bloody  demon  of  Puritanism  was  for 
the  moment  silenced. 

Again,  in  1567,  the  Huguenots,  under  Conde,  attempted 
treacherously  and  by  force  to  seize  upon  the  French  king 
and  court  at  Monceaux,  but  the  attempt  was  thwarted  and 
the  king  succeeded  in  escaping  to  Paris.  Condo  and  his 
Calvinists  pursued  him  to  Paris,  resolved  to  capture  him  at 
whatever  cost  of  blood.  But  the  friends  of  the  king,  under 
Montmorency,  defeated  him  at  St.  Denis,  and  forced  him  to 
make  peace  in  15G8. 

Again  in  1568  and  1569,  Condo  and  the  Prince  of  Orange 
united  their  forces  and  attacked  the  Catliolics  with  the  ut- 
most ferocity.  Among  the  results  were  the  battles  of  Jar- 
nac,  where  Conde  fell,  and  of  Montcontour,  under  Coligny, 
in  both  of  which  enojaGcements  the  Huscuenots  were  defeated. 
x\fter  having  inflicted  upon  France  the  greatest  calamities 
for  more  than  two  years,  and  after  almost  incredible  persccu- 

*  "  Histoire  des  Variations,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  231. 


354  CHPwISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tions  and  cruelties  against  the  Catholics  who  came  within 
their  poAver,  a  third  treaty  of  peace  was  effected  in  1570. 

But  the  seeds  of  hatred,  discord,  and  violence  had  every- 
where been  sown  in  France.  Catholic  and  Puritan  had  alike 
become  demoralized  by  scenes  of  violence  and  bloodshed. 
Sentiments  of  vengeance  had  been  kindled  in  the  hearts  of  men 
who  should  have  been  friends  and  brothers.  Religious  fanati- 
cism and  intolerance  had  accomplished  its  congenial  work,  and 
fraternal  hatred  and  thirst  for  revenge  and  blood  ruled  where 
love  and  charity  should  alone  hold  s^vay.  While  the  pub- 
lic sentiment  was  thus  temporarily  debauched,  and  while  the 
ignorant  multitude  were  mad  with  angry  passions  which  had 
been  roused  into  activity  by  so  many  years  of  religious  civil 
war,  the  unprincipled  Catherine  de  Medicis,  who  had  acted 
alternately  with  both  parties,  plotted  and  instigated  the 
atrocious  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew  in  1572.  In  this  base 
attack,  from  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  Huguenots 
were  killed,  and  the  authors  and  abetters  of  the  massacre  de- 
serv^e  and  will  receive  the  execration  of  all  future  ages.  It 
was  one  of  the  terrible  results  arising  out  of  the  madness  en- 
gendered by  civil  war,- and  all  the  blame  belongs  to  the  indi- 
viduals actually  concerned.  After  the  occurrence  of  the 
tragedy,  ex  'parte  reports  were  sent  to  all  the  European 
courts,  declaring  that  the  attack  had  been  made  to  put  down 
a  Huguenot  conspiracy  to  destroy  the  French  court,  and  to 
usurp  the  government  by  force.  Among  other  potentates, 
this  representation  was  sent  to  Gregory  XIII.,  w^ho  ordered 
a  Te  Deumto  be  chanted  at  Rome  for  the  supposed  suppres- 
sion of  a  treasonable  revolt  to  destroy  the  king  and  his  court. 
Afterward,  when  the  true  facts  were  received,  Gregory  rep- 
robated the  whole  occurrence.  But  the  Puritans  have  not 
failed  to  take  advantaoie  of  this  error  to  defame  the  Roman 
pontiff  and  the  Church. 

We  present  a  resume  of  the  subject,  by  citing  from  Spauld- 
ing's  History  the  brief  summary  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
the  favorite  disciple  of  Fenelon  :  "  I  do  not  speak  of  the 
calamities  produced  by  the  new  doctrines  in  Germany,  Eng- 


FEUITS    OF   THE    KEFOEMATION   IN   EUKOPE.  355 

land,  Scotland,  Ireland,  etc.  I  speak  of  France.  N'or  shall  I 
enumerate  one  by  one  the  evils  of  wliich  it  was  the  theatre, 
and  which  are  recorded  in  so  many  authentic  documents :  the 
secret  assemblies ;  the  leagues  formed  with  foreign  enemies ; 
the  attempts  against  the  government ;  the  seditious  threats, 
open  revolts,  conspiracies,  and  bloody  wars  ;  the  plundering 
and  sacking  of  towns;  the  deliberate  massacres  and  atrocious 
sacrileges — suffice  it  to  say,  that  from  Francis  I.  to  Louis 
XIV.,  during  seven  successive  reigns,  all  these  evils  and 
many  others,  with  more  or  less  violence,  desolated  the  French 
monarchy.  This  is  a  point  of  history  which,  although  it 
may  be  variously  related,  can  neither  be  denied  nor  called  in 
question  ;  and  it  is  from  this  capital  point  that  we  shtill  start 
in  the  political  examination  of  this  grand  affair."  * 

The  Puritan  system  was  introduced  and  established  in 
Sweden  by  the  Lutheran  king  Gustavus  Yasa,  aided  by 
Olaus  and  LaAvrence  Petri,  and  other  converts  to  the  new 
doctrines.  The  means  employed  in  reforming  Sweden  were 
not  reason  and  argument,  but  bayonets  in  the  hands  of  Ger- 
man and  otlier  foreign  soldiers,  ti  general  robbery  and  ap- 
propriation of  the  property  of  the  Church,  and  a  long  reli- 
gious reign  of  terror.  In  numerous  instances  the  peasantry 
attempted  to  resist  the  gross  outrages  of  the  king  against 
the  ancient  religion,  and  against  their  natural  rights  and 
privileges,  but  they  were  always  summarily  put  down  by 
the  foreign  mercenaries  who  served  as  the  body-guard  and 
instrument  of  the  innovating  monarch.  The  same  disastrous 
results  accompanied  the  Reformation  in  Sweden  which  had 
already  been  witnessed  in  Germany  and  Switzerland,  viz., 
a  universal  deterioration  of  morals,  religious  skepticism,  and 
fraternal  hatreds,  contentions,  and  civil  strifes. 

The  Puritan  system  was  introduced  into  Denmark  in  1522, 
soon  after  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  Frederick  I.  Among 
the  very  first  acts  of  this  monarch  was  the  entire  subjection 
of  the  common  people  to  the  nobles,  and  through  the  latter 
class  the  accomplishment  of  the  overtlirow  of  the  old  religion, 

*  "Hist,  of  the  Prot.  Ref.,"  p.  390. 


356  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

and  the  establishment  of  Luther anism  in  his  kingdom.  Ava- 
rice was  at  the  hottom  of  the  Reformation  in  Denmark,  as 
the  universal  spoliation  and  robbery  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Church,  and  of  Catholics,  for  the  benefit  of  king  and  nobles, 
abundantly  j)rove.  The  most  arbitrary  violations  of  the 
rights  of  person  and  j)i'operty  were  continually  perpetrated 
under  the  reign  of  this  partisan  king,  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
stroying Catholicism,  of  plundering  her  advocates,  and  of 
building  up  the  new  religion.  The  most  sacred  rights  were 
set  aside  under  various  absurd  pretexts,  and  supreme  spiritual 
and  temporal  authority  was  usurped  by  a  regal  innovator  for 
momentary  wealtli  and  power. 

After  the  death  of  Frederick  in  1533,  his  son  Christian 
III.,  also  a  Lutheran,  ascended  the  throne.  This  man  com- 
pleted what  his  father  had  commenced — the  entire  robbery 
of  the  Church  property,  the  destruction  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  and  the  absolute  subjec- 
tion of  the  people  to  the  arbitrary  wills  of  the  nobles. 

In  1536  Norway  was  annexed  to  Denmark,  by  Christian 
III.,  by  means  of  an  army  of  Lutheran  Danes,  and  her  inhab- 
itants forced  to  accept  the  reformed  religion.  In  the  first  in- 
stance, the  people  resisted  these  innovations  in  a  body,  but  the 
swords  of  the  Danes  soon  compelled  submission  to  both  their 
religion  and  their  government.  Those  who  refused  to  renounce 
allegiance  to  Norway  or  to  Catholicism  were  imprisoned,  or 
forced  to  leave  the  country. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Danish 
king  sent  an  army  into  his  Catholic  dependency,  Iceland,  and 
forced  the  unfortunate  inhabitants  to  renounce  their  ancient 
religion,  and  to  adoj)t  the  Puritan  system,  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives. 

The  Scotch  Reformation  under  Knox  was  inaugurated  by 
riots,  the  destruction  of  Catholic  churches  and  monasteries, 
and  wanton  abuse  of  monks  and  priests.  Knox  and  his  Puri- 
tanical followers  traversed  all  Scotland  with  the  Bible  and 
predestination  in  one  hand  and  a  firebrand  in  the  other. 
Not  only  churches  and  monasteries  were  ruthlessly  destroyed, 


FKUrrS   OF   TUE   EEFORMATION   IN    EUKOrE.  357 

but  thousands  of  j^recious  works  of  art,  pictures  and  stat- 
ues, which  had  been  accumulating  for  centuries,  vvx^re  in- 
volved in  the  common  ruin.  With  the  cry  of  "  freedom  of 
conscience,  and  religious  liberty,"  ever  on  their  lips,  these 
early  Calvinists  everywhere  destroyed  the  Catholic  edifices, 
and  prohibited  the  Catholic  worship,  under  j^enalties  of  im- 
prisonment, confiscation  of  property,  and  death. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  the  demoralizing  effects  of 
the  religious  innovations  in  England,  and  to  the  forcible  sub- 
jection of  the  souls  and  bodies  of  the  masses  of  the  people  to 
the  arbitrary  will  of  Henry. 

A  notable  characteristic  of  all  the  Reformations  which 
have  occurred  from  the  days  of  Donatus  and  Manicheus  to 
the  present  time,  has  been  a  spirit  of  discord  and  revolt,  and 
a  culmination  in  civil  wars.  The  Protestant  leagues  of  the 
sixteenth  century  were  nothing  more  or  less  than  warlike 
organizations  instituted  and  perpetuated  for  the  purpose  of 
propagating  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  by  arms. 
Every  thing  was  accomplished  under  the  pretext  of  religion  ; 
while  the  entire  spirit  of  their  proceedings  was  in  direct  op- 
l^osition  to  the  merciful  and  beneficent  precepts  of  the  Prince 
of  peace. 

It  was  in  this  spirit  that  Luther,  Calvin,  Zwinglius,  Bucer, 
Karlstadt,  John  of  Leyden,  and  the  other  innovators  ui-ged 
on  their  deluded  followers  to  take  up  arms,  and  to  pursue  all 
who  were  opposed  to  them  with  fire  and  sword.  It  was  in 
this  spirit  that  Luther,  in  a  sanguinary  sermon  which  he 
preached  in  1540,  declared  "that  the  pope  was  an  enraged 
wolf,  against  whom  it  was  the  duty  of  all  men  to  assemble 
and  fight  with  arms,  as  well  as  against  all  princes  who  sus- 
tained him,  not  excepting  the  emperor  himself."  * 

Practically  the  tenets  and  tendencies  of  the  Puritan  sys- 
tem may  be  summed  up  as  follows  :  Do  you  believe  in  justi- 
fication by  faith  alone,  unaccompanied  by  good  works  ?  If 
the  resjDonse  is  in  the  affirmative,  then  go  your  way — you  are 
among  the  elect  of  God,  and  you  may  lie,  cheat,  steal,  bear 

*  Di<p.  1540,  prop.  89,  ct  scq.  T.,  i.,  vid.  Sleid.  c.  IC. 


358  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

false  witness,  murder — and,  as  Luther  once  remarked, 
''  though  you  commit  adultery  a  million  times  a  day,  your 
salvation  is  secure." 

Do  you  believe  in  predestination?  If  you  do,  then  re- 
member that  God  alone  is  responsible  for  all  that  occurs  to 
you  in  this  world;  that  your  destiny  was  foreordained  and 
fixed  before  the  world  was  created,  and  that  any  efibrts  on 
your  part,  in  the  way  of  good  works,  are  not  only  futile,  but 
insulting  to  the  Deity,  who  ordered  all  things  in  an  immu- 
table manner,  when  He  conceived  the  grand  design  of  the 
creation.  All  personal  efforts,  therefore,  for  the  purjDOse  of 
securing  salvation,  must  be  avoided  as  derogatory  to  the  grace 
of  God,  presumptuous,  and  sinfuh 

Do  you  believe  that  you  are  among  the  elect  of  God  ?  If 
you  return  an  affirmative  answer,  then  know  that  all  the 
powers  of  earth  or  hell  cannot  change  your  happy  destiny. 
You  may  commit  every  conceivable  crime  daily  and  liourly, 
with  perfect  impunity,  because  your  salvation  has  been  de- 
creed by  the  Almighty  before  your  birth.  If  God  has  elect- 
ed you  for  salvation,  you  cannot  possibly  be  damned  ;  there- 
fore take  no  thought  or  care  for  your  life  and  conduct,  but 
act  out  those  natural  propensities  and  desires  which  are  im- 
planted within  you,  without  fear  or  restraint. 

Do  you  believe  in  total  depravity  ?  If  you  do,  then  know 
that  all  your  inclinations  and  all  the  tendencies  of  your 
heart  are  evil ;  that  you  cannot,  of  your  own  volition,  harbor 
a  good  thought,  or  do  a  good  act ;  and  that  this  malignant 
nature  must  always  adhere  to  you  and  lead  you  to  everlast- 
ing perdition,  unless,  by  a  special  act  of  grace,  your  Creator 
has  been  merciful  to  you,  and  elected  you  from  myriads  of 
other  helpless  and  condemned  victims  for  salvation.  In  com- 
mon with  all  the  posterity  of  Adam,  you  were  born  totally  de- 
praved, but  the  Author  of  your  being,  in  His  supreme  caprice, 
has  selected  you  from  thousands  of  your  unfortunate  and 
helpless  companions,  for  salvation  ;  while  He  leaves  the  others 
in  their  native  depravity,  for  everlasting  perdition.  You  are 
also  bound  to  acknowledge  that  such  a  God  is  just  and  mer- 


FRUITS    OF   THE   EEFOKilATION   IN    EUKOPE.  359 

ciful — a  Being  of  infinite  love  and  goodness  !  You  can  afford 
this  act  of  credulity,  because  individually  you  are  all  right — 
unlike  other  men — holier  than  the  poor  victims  whom  God 
has  created  for  damnation.  Never  forget  that  all  men  are  by 
nature  totally  dcj^raved,  and  that  it  is  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  divine  intention  that  all  sorts  of  sin,  crime,  and 
evil  should  abound.  Beware,  therefore,  how  you  endeavor  to 
interpose  any  ideas  or  any  acts  of  your  own,  to  thwart  or 
change  this  foreordained  and  predestinated  state  of  affairs. 
Beware,  lest,  by  any  personal  act,  or  any  good  work,  you 
should  appear  to  detract  from  the  will,  the  power,  and  the 
glory  of  the  Supreme  Architect. 

Do  you  believe  that  Calvin  and  Luther  were  the  actual 
founders  and  establishers  of  God's  Church  on  earth  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  that  they  were  elected  by  the  Almighty  to 
accomplish  a  woi'k  which  Christ,  the  apostles,  and  their  suc- 
cessors tried^  hut  failed  to  accomplisli  f  If  you  assent  to  this, 
then  3^ou  are  right  in  repudiating  the  terms  Christian,  Catho- 
lie,  as  well  as  the  ancient  doctrines  and  ceremonies  which 
these  terms  imply,  and  in  adopting  the  designations  of  Luther- 
ans, Galvinists,  and  the  new  theology  and  the  peculiar  morals 
inculcated  by  these  real,  these  modern  Christs,  these  practical 
Redeemers,  these  German  Saviours,  par  excellence,  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Knock  down  and  break  in  pieces  the  statues  of 
Christ  and  of  His  holy  mother,  and  the  symbols  of  the  cruci- 
fixion, with  which  Catholics  have  ornamented  their  clmrches, 
monasteries,  and  other  institutions  of  worship  and  learning. 
Scoff  at,  and  maltreat  all  priests,  missionaries,  monks,  nuns, 
and  sisters  of  charity,  Avho  presume  to  renounce  the  pleasures 
of  the  world  and  devote  themselves  to  the  exclusive  service 
of  Gocl.  Repeat  to  them  the  declaration  of  Luther,  that  man 
is  so  constituted  by  his  Maker  that  he  cannot  resist  the 
pleasures  of  sensual  gratification,  and  that  whoever  asserts, 
or  professes  to  practise  the  opposite  of  this,  is  a  liar  and  a 
hypocrite.  Theoretically,  it  is  allowable  to  j^reach  up  an  en- 
franchisement of  the  mind  from  all  tlieological  thraldom, 
especially  when  Catholic  theology  is  in  question ;  but,  j9r«c- 


360  CHEISTIANITY   AKD   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ticctUy^  regard  any  one  as  a  deadly  enemy  who  does  not  pro- 
fess some  one  of  the  varieties  of  Puritanism,  and  pursue  him 
even  to  the  death  with  carnal  weapons,  if  he  persists  in  his  op- 
position. Always  remember  that  God  is  God,  that  Christ  is 
the  Son  of  God,  but  that  either  Luther  or  Calvin,  or  some 
other  innovator,  is  His  only  real  prophet,  the  only  practical 
founder  of  the  Church  and  of  Christianity.  It  is  doubtless 
well  to  remember  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the  Son  of  God,  that 
He  sulFered  and  died  to  atone  for  the  sins  of  men,  and  that 
He  set  a  good  example  to  man  in  His  life  and  conduct ;  but, 
when  He  attempted  to  found  a  Church,  to  lead  it  into  all 
truth,  and  to  send  down  the  Holy  Spirit  to  preside  over  it  to 
the  end  of  the  world,  so  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not 
prevail  against  it.  He  went  too  far — He  made  a  mistake — He 
transcended  His  power ;  in  a  word.  He  usurped  the  position 
and  the  functions  which  had  been  reserved  from  the  begin- 
ning of  time  for  Martin  Luther  and  his  fellow-revolutionists 
of  the  sixteenth  century  ! 

Luther  and  his  contemporary  innovators  claimed  that 
they  had  been  delegated  by  God  to  restore  Primitive  Chris- 
tia7iity  as  it  had  been  taught  and  practised  by  Christ  and 
the  apostles.  Let  us  examine  briefly  the  merits  of  this  im- 
portant assumption. 

What,  then,  did  the  Puritan  system  accomplish  ?  What 
primitive  ideas,  principles,  and  practices  did  it  restore  to 
mankind  in  the  sixteenth  century?  In  view  of  the  brief 
citations  from  the  writings  of  the  Reformers  in  the  prece- 
ding pages,  the  impartial  historian  v/ould  be  compelled  to  de- 
clare that  it  restored  all  the  dominant  ideas,  hypotheses,  and 
practical  workings  of  the  pagan  system  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. The  fundamental  principles  of  the  pagan  system  were 
selfishness,  love  of  power,  riches,  pomp,  excitement,  the  j^ur- 
suit  of  pleasure,  and  a  hatred  and  contempt  for  every  thing 
which  stood  in  the  way  of  interest  or  passion.  The  pagan 
subjects  of  the  Csesars  delighted  in  wranglings,  contentions, 
and  bloody  civil  wars.  For  the  glory  of  their  system  and 
of  their  nationality,  they  never  hesitated  to  plunge  the  na- 


FKUITS    OF   THE   EEFOEarATION   IN   EUROPE.  3G1 

tions  into  cruel  civil  wars  and  to  smite  millions  of  innocent 
mortals  with  the  besom  of  destruction.  Let  the  candid 
reader  contrast  the  terrible  principles  and  results  of  the  Puri- 
tan system  with  those  wliich  obtained  under  the  Koman  em- 
pire, and  he  will  be  compelled,  to  admit  that  Luther  and.  his 
revolutionary  imitators  revived  primitive  Paganism,  instead 
of  primitive  Christianity.  Paganism  was  intolerant,  arro- 
gant, cruel,  grasping,  ostentatious,  ambitious,  warlike,  avari- 
cious, worldly :  has  Puritanism  ever  been  behind  her  in  these 
particulars  ?  The  religion  and  the  priesthood  of  Jesus  were 
scoffed  at,  calumniated,  and  attacked  by  the  pagans  of  the 
first  three  hundred  years  of  the  Christian  era :  the  Puritans 
of  the  Reformation  revived  in  all  their  orio-inal  virulence 
the  same  scoffs,  calumnies,  and  persecutions  against  the  same 
religion,  the  same  Church,  and  the  same  ecclesiastical  body. 
The  cultivated  idolaters  of  the  Augustan  age  were  an  enter- 
prising, thrifty,  prosperous,  and  rich  people :  so,  as  a  general 
rule,  have  been  the  advocates  of  Puritanism.  In  material 
prosperity,  in  worldly  goods,  in  the  rich  treasures  and  luxu- 
ries of  earth,  the  pantheistic  patricians  of  the  first  three 
centuries  of  the  Christian  era  were  fixr  ahead  of  the  humble 
followers  and  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ :  nor  have  the  Puritan 
fatalists  of  the  past  three  centuries  lagged  behind  their  primi- 
tive prototypes  in  these  respects.  The  highly  cultivated 
patricians  of  the  golden  age  recognized  no  other  authority  in 
religion  or  morals  than  their  own  personal  opinions,  desires, 
and  inclinations :  the  followers  of  the  Reformation  also  coin- 
cide with  them  fully  in  these  sentiments.  Roman  civiliza- 
tion, up  to  the  irruption  of  the  barbarians  into  Europe,  was 
almost  exclusively  manifested  in  material  and  worldly  pros- 
perity, while  morals  and  manners  were  universally  corrupt : 
Puritan  civilization  has  ever  developed  itself  in  the  same  di- 
rection. 

There  are  also  many  striking  points  of  resemblance  be- 
tween the  Puritan  and  Mohammedan  systems,  as  well  as  be- 
tween their  founders.     The  fundamental  principles  of  both 
were  eminently /a^a^25^ic/  both  innovators  referred  tlie  sole 
16 


362  CUEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

cause  of  all  evil  as  well  as  of  all  good  to  the  Almighty ; 
both  denied  the  free  agency  of  man  ;  both  proclaimed  them- 
selves special  prophets  and  representatives  of  God;  one 
claimed  to  have  founded  a  religion  de  novo^  the  other  to  have 
restored  a  lost  religion  and  a  lost  Church ;  both  propagated 
their  doctrines  by  the  sword  ;  the  advance  of  both  systems 
has  always  been  accompanied  by  wars,  cruelties,  a  deteriora- 
tion of  morals,  great  destruction  of  life  and  property,  and 
sometimes  by  the  extermination  of  entire  nations  ;  both  men 
were  bold  and  unscrupulous  fanatics.  Ffoulkes  contrasts 
the  two  prophets  thus :  "  Passing  immediately  from  Moham- 
med to  Luther,  nobody  can,  I  think,  fail  to  be  struck  with 
the  strange  resemblance  that  there  is  of  one  to  the  other, 
both  as  individuals,  and  in  their  relations  to  the  age  of  the 
Church  in  which  they  lived.  Luther  did  not  set  up  as  Anti- 
christ— far  from  it — nor  Mohammed  as  Antichurch,  at  least 
in  intention  ;  but  as  decidedly  as  Mohammed  played  the  part 
of  Antichrist  in  the  East,  Luther  played  the  part  of  Anti- 
church  in  the  West.  .  .  .  They  both  knew  exactly  what  line 
to  advocate,  how  far  to  go,  and  beyond  what  point  they 
would  not  be  followed.  .  .  .  Both  Mohammed  and  Luther 
affected  to  have  converse  with  spirits ;  to  be  fighting  for  the 
integrity  of  tlie  Scriptures;  to  be  waging  a  war,  the  one  for 
God,  the  other  for  Christ  alone.  Both  affected  to  be  incul- 
cating a  j)urer  and  holier  standard  than  that  of  their  own 
age ;  Mohammed  began  life  as  a  Hanyf^  a  Reformer  or  Puri- 
tan ;  it  was  that  very  title  which  was  appropriated  by  Lu- 
ther, and  by  liis  predecessors,  and  by  his  followers  from  the 
first.  But  it  was  not  long  before  Mohammed  had  carried 
polygamy  in  his  own  case  to  a  point  beyond  what  even  East- 
ern manners  would  tolerate;  and  Luther,  Melancthon,  and 
Bucer  disgraced  themselves  forever  in  the  eyes  of  Europe  by 
permitting  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse  to  take  a  second  wife. 
Similarly  both  juirported  to  be  setting  humanity  free  from 
bondage,  while  both  advanced  theories  annihilative  both  of 
the  freedom  of  the  will,  and  of  all  moral  responsibility.  To 
be  sure,  fatalism  in  tlie  West  has  been  always  much  more 


FEUITS   OF   THE  EEFOEMATION   IN   EUROrE.  3C3 

speculated  upon  than  acted  upon  ;  in  tlie  East,  so  mucli  more 
prone  to  speculate  than  to  practise,  it  has  become  the  rule  of 
life.  Finally,  as  Mohammed  had  his  rivals  and  opponents  in 
the  fanatics  Al-Aswad  and  Moseilma,  so  Luther  saw  himself 
surpassed  in  violence  by  Munzer,  John  of  Leyden,  and  tlie 
Anabaptists.  As  Mohammed  had  for  his  lieutenants  Ali, 
Abubekr,  Omar,  and  Othman,  so  Luther  had  for  his  fellow - 
Reformers  Zwinglius  and  Bucer,  Melancthon  and  Calvin. 
But  the  same  animosities  exhibited  themselves  sooner  or 
later  in  both  camps ;  and  in  the  feuds  between  Sheefdis  and 
Sunnees  we  may  read  a  very  counterpart  to  those  disputes 
which  arose  between  the  Lutherans  proper  and  the  Re- 
formed." * 

The  prominent  idea  of  all  the  Puritans  was  the  overthrow 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  To  accomplish  this  object,  every 
evil  j)assion  was  invoked,  the  holy  truths  of  Christianity 
w^ere  set  at  defiance,  and  warlike  organizations  were  every- 
where established.  The  question  was  not.  What  is  truth  ? 
but  What  does  the  Catholic  Church  teach  ?  and  all  the  pow- 
ers of  the  innovators  were  arrayed  against  the  latter.  This 
purely  partisan  idea  has  dominated  over  all  the  j^racticnl 
operations  of  the  followers  of  the  Reformation  down  to  the 
present  time.  Although  an  immediate  result  of  the  Refor- 
mation Avas  the  division  of  Christendom  into  innumerable 
sects,  each  hating  and  contending  against  each  other,  yet 
this  ruling  idea  was  common  to  them  all.  In  the  midst  of 
their  fiercest  struggles,  they  could  always  pause  for  the  mo- 
ment, and  combine  their  discordant  forces,  Avhenever  a  blow 
could  be  struck  against  the  ancient  Church.  Upon  this  one 
point — hatred  of  the  Church — the  sects  have  always  been  in 
unison. 

We  have  seen  that  the  innovators  appealed  to  the  baser 
portion  of  man's  nature,  and  roused  into  activity  emotions 
and  passions  which  deluged  the  world  with  immorality,  vice, 
and  blood.  For  more  than  half  a  century  their  terrible  doc- 
trines swe^^t  over  the  earth  like  a  burning,  blasting,  deadly 

*  "  Christeudom's  Divisions,"  p.  119. 


364  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tornado,  poisoning  the  fountains  of  religion  and  virtue,  and 
developing  in  men  every  thing  which  is  evil.  They  genera- 
ted amousf  the  nations  of  the  world  a  kind  of  reliorious  insan- 
ity,  a  fanatical  frenzy,  a  raging  madness,  which  could  only 
be  quelled  by  the  sight  of  human  misery  and  human  blood. 
The  numerous  religious  wars  which  have  occurred  since  the 
Reformation,  and  the  cruel  and  sanguinary  sj^irit  which  has 
always  actuated  the  Puritans  and  their  descendants,  prove 
this.  But  it  may  be  asserted  that  the  nature  of  man  revolts 
against  such  cruelties  and  such  wholesale  atrocities ;  yet 
when  once  the  bad  passions  are  fully  aroused,  and  reason  and 
conscience  have  been  put  to  sleep,  man  is  the  most  ferocious 
and  cruel  of  all  living  animals,  AYhen  these  passions  once 
gain  headway,  the  mad  torrent  sweeps  away  and  destroys 
every  thing  before  it — conscience,  religion,  reason,  humanity, 
mercy.  The  beast  of  prey  attacks  his  fellow-beast  only  to 
satisfy  the  imperious  cravings  of  hunger,  and  he  employs 
only  the  claws  and  teeth  which  nature  gave  him  as  his  weap- 
ons of  attack.  When  hunger  is  a2:>peased,  the  ferocious  in- 
stinct ceases,  and  the  animal  reposes  in  quiet  and  content- 
ment. 1^0  instinct  of  hatred  or  vengeance  now  animates 
him,  and  he  lays  no  plans  for  future  strife,  rapine,  and  blood. 
But  man  fights  not  alone  for  sustenance,  or  in  self-defence, 
but  for  an  idea,  for  conquest,  riches,  power,  revenge,  and 
thirst  for  the  blood  of  his  fellows.  Nor  does  he  confine  him- 
self to  the  weapons  which  nature  2:ave  him,  but  he  invents 
and  uses  horrible  implements  of  destruction,  devised  to  mu- 
tilate, mangle,  agonize,  and  kill  his  foes.  Even  after  his  an- 
tagonists are  subdued,  plundered,  and  captured,  he  still 
wreaks  his  vengeance  by  imprisonment,  starvation,  and  pet- 
ty tortures.  With  diabolical  ingenuity  he  now  torments  the 
minds  as  well  as  the  bodies  of  his  victims,  and  crushes  out  in 
anguish  and  despair  the  souls  v/hich  a  merciful  God  had  giv- 
en them.  The  lion,  or  the  tiger,  or  the  hyena,  scorns  thus  to 
harbor  revenge,  or  to  mutilate,  torture,  and  kill  in  mere  Avan- 
tonness  after  his  hunger  is  satiated;  but  the  intellectual 
beast  of  prey  knows  no  bounds  to  his  hatred,  ferocity,  or 


FRUITS   OF   THE   KEFORMATION   IN    EUEOFE.  3G5 

cruelty,  when  true  religion  sleeps,  and  Puritanical  fanaticism 
takes  possession  of  him.  "We  know  of  no  better  illustration 
of  these  humiliatinsr  facts  than  tlic  relii^ious  civil  wars  whicli 
have  been  instigated  by  the  Reformers  and  their  followers 
from  the  days  of  Luther,  Calvin,  and  Zwinglius,  to  the  pres- 
ent time.  No  one  can  contemplate  the  sanguinary  and 
vengeful  religious  wars  of  the  sixteenth  century,  incited  and 
led  on  by  those  ancient  Puritan  "  blood-hounds  of  Zion," 
the  terrible  War  of  the  Peasants ;  the  Seven  Years'  War ;  the 
Thirty  Years'  War  ;  the  religious  wars  of  France,  Denmark, 
Sweden,  and  Switzerland ;  the  wars  of  John  Knox  in  Scot- 
land, and  of  Oliver  Cromwell  in  England,  in  which  Europe 
was  deluged  in  blood,  without  a  deep  and  permanent  con- 
viction of  the  truths  herein  expressed.  ISTo  one  can  recall 
the  tierce  wars  of  the  sanguinary  Puritans  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  against  the  simple  and  almost  defenceless  Indian  tribes, 
and  their  final  extermination,  without  shuddering  at  the 
dreadful  depravity  and  cruelty  of  Puritan  fanaticism.  Xo 
one  can  recur  to  the  sanguinary  events  of  the  past  six  years 
in  this  country,  to  the  bitter  sectional  hatreds  and  wrang- 
lings,  to  the  ruthless  slaughter  of  so  many  countrymen  and 
brethren,  to  the  hundreds  of  Puritan  ^nilpits  desecrated  by 
the  mad  ravings  of  partisan  parsons,  who  have  continually 
clamored  for  vengeance  and  for  the  blood  of  their  erring 
brctliren  of  the  South,  without  ascribing  to  the  modern  fol- 
lowers of  Luther  and  Calvin  a  diabolical  spirit.  No  one  can 
contrast  the  teachings  of  these  Reformed  parsons  Avith  those 
of  Clirist  and  His  apostles  without  concluding  that  the  reign 
of  the  evil  one  is  now  upon  us. 


CHAPTER    XXYII. 

THE   PUEITAN   SYSTEM   m  AMERICA. 

In  a  previous  chapter  we  liave  j)resentecl  the  theological 
tenets  of  the  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  traced 
their  legitimate  fruits  throughout  the  various  ramifications 
of  European  society.  -  Wherever  these  doctrines  have  been 
introduced  we  have  shown  that  there  has  heen  a  general  de- 
cline of  the  religious  sentiment,  and  a  universal  deterioration 
of  morals  and  manners.  Among  their  baneful  consequences, 
as  we  have  seen,  were  the  terrible  religious  wars  Avhich  per- 
vaded Europe  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centu- 
ries. We  have  demonstrated  that  a  certain  clearly  defined 
system,  embracing  religion,  morals,  politics,  and  society,  origi- 
nated directly  from  these  novel  dogmas.  This  system  has 
been  justly  designated  the  JPuritan  System.  We  have 
already  observed  that  the  term  Puritan  originated  with 
Mohammed,  who  called  himself  a  Ilanyf^  i.  e.,  a  Puritan,  a 
Reformer.  Luther  and  Calvin  adopted  this  same  title  of 
Puritan,  and  many  of  their  follov/ers  have  since  retained  it. 

During  the  first  fifty  years  of  its  existence  this  Puritan 
system  exercised  a  controlling  influence  in  Germany,  Switzer- 
land, Sweden,  Denmark,  !N"orway,  Holland,  and  Scotland 
but  the  sad  results  to  which  it  gave  rise  then  brought  about 
a  general  reaction,  and  many  returned  to  the  Catholic  Church, 
while  a  still  larger  number  became  rationalists  or  atheists. 
But  those  who  still  remained  within  the  Puritan  fold  were 


THE   PURITAN   SYSTEM   IN   AMERICA.  3G7 

energetic,  bold,  {incl  untiring  in  their  partisan  efforts,  and 
thus  made  amends  for  numerical  losses.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century  Puritanism  has  shared 
its  influence  in  the  countries  enumerated,  vv'ith  its  offspring, 
Rationalism.  If  its  practical  operations  have  been  less  per- 
nicious than  during  its  first  years,  it  is  because  a  more  con- 
servative public  sentiment  has  restrained  and  circumscribed 
its  natural  tendencies. 

But  it  is  an  incontrovertible  fact  that,  in  every  nation 
where  the  Puritan  system  has  had  full  sway,  a  low  grade  of 
civilization  has  existed,  intolerance  and  injustice  have  pre- 
vailed, and  fraternal  contentions  and  bloody  civil  wars  have 
ultimately  occurred.  We  have  described  in  detail  these  results 
in  Europe ;  and.  we  now  propose  to  follow  this  system  and 
its  special  guardians  and  perpetuators  to  the  American  con- 
tinent, and  examine  its  influences  in  this  new  and  rude  field, 
of  labor. 

As  our  data  respecting  this  influence  of  Puritanism  in 
Europe  have  been  mostly  derived  from  the  writings  of  the 
Reformers  tliemselves  or  their  immediate  friends,  so  have  our 
facts  with  regard  to  its  operations  in  America  been  taken  ex- 
clusively from  standard  Protestant  authorities. 

The  Puritans  have  always  boastingly  professed  to  make 
the  Bible  their  sole  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  We  shall 
adopt  the  doctrines  therein  inculcated  as  our  standard  of 
comparison,  and  arraign  the  policy  and  the  acts  of  the  Pu- 
ritans of  the  United  States  before  this  divine  standard.  We 
shall  ever  keep  prominently  in  mind  those  great  fundamental 
principles  of  our  Divine  Master — brotherly  love,  charity,  dis- 
interested benevolence,  meekness,  forgiveness,  j^eace.  From 
this  divine  stand-point  we  shall  judge  the  motives  and  actions 
of  those  who,  iinder  the  inspiration  of  the  Puritan  system, 
have  thus  far  Av^orked  out  the  problem  of  civilization  on  this 
continent. 

We  are  aware  that  nearly  all  the  Protestant  and  ration- 
alistic writers  ignore  this  divine  standard,  and  regard  wealth 
and  material  prosperity  as  the  only  true  criteria  of  civiliza- 


368  CHEISTIANITY   AND  ITS   CONFLICTS. 

tion.  Not  only  do  eminent  Protestant  historians  and  states- 
men like  Macaulay,  Guizot,  Mill,  and  Bancroft,  but  distin- 
giiisbed  skeptical  writers  like  Lecky,  Buckle,  Renan,  Straass, 
Owen,  and  Parker  regard  wealth,  industrial  prosj)erity,  and 
the  social,  intellectual,  and  sensual  developments  and  gratifi- 
cations to  which  they  give  rise,  as  the  only  true  bases  of 
civilization.  Political  economy,  material  prosperity,  and 
wealth  are  their  ideals  of  power,  excellence,  and  haj^piness. 
Poverty,  self-denial,  and  an  exclusive  devotion  to  God  and  to 
suffering  humanity,  they  look  upon  as  degrading  and  con- 
temptible. According  to  these  gentlemen,  there  can  be  no 
genuine  civilization  v/ithout  an  accumulation  of  capital. 
Money,  thrift,  political  economy,  a  multiplication  of  desires 
and  wants,  and  individual  gratification,  are,  according  to 
tbem,  the  fundamental  principles  of  civilization :  while  all 
those  ideas  and  pursuits  which  are  non-producers  of  capital 
are  deemed  unworthy  of  attention  and  useless.  Puritanism 
and  Rationalism  have  joined  hands,  and  think  and  act  in 
unison.  They  both  discard  the  spiritual  and  aesthetic  prin- 
ciples, and  deify  Materialism,  Their  political  economy  and 
their  industrial  philosophy  may  be  summed  up  in  the  terms 
political  exj^ediency  and  worldly  gain.  The  idea  is  well 
illustrated  in  the  following  citation  from  a  recent  popular 
and  standard  work  on  Rationalism  : 

"  What  may  be  termed  the  ascetic  and  the  industrial 
philosophies  have  at  all  times  formed  two  of  the  most  im- 
portant divisions  of  human  opinions  ;  and  as  each  brings  with 
it  a  A^ast  train  of  moral  and  intellectual  consequences,  their 
history  touches  almost  every  branch  of  intellectual  progress. 
The  watchword  of  the  first  philosophy  is  mortification ;  the 
watchword  of  the  second  is  development.  The  first  seeks 
to  diminish,  and  the  second  to  multiply  desires;  the  first, 
acknowledging  happiness  as  a  condition  of  the  mind,  endeav- 
ors to  obtain  it  by  acting  directly  on  the  mind,  the  second 
by  acting  on  surrounding  circumstances.  The  first,  giving 
a  greater  intensity  to  the  emotions,  produces  the  most  de- 
voted men ;  the  second,  regulating  the  combined  action  of 


THE   rURITAN    SYSTEM   IN    AMERICA.  369 

society,  produces  the  highest  social  level.  Tlie  lirst  lias 
proved  most  congenial  to  the  Asiatic  and  Egyptian  civiliza- 
tion, and  the  second  to  the  civilizations  of  Europe Of 

this  industrial  civilization,  political  economy  is  the  intellect- 
ual expression ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  it  fur- 
nishes a  complete  theory  of  human  progress  directly  opposed 
to  the  theory  of  asceticism.  According  to  its  j^oint  of  view, 
tlie  basis  of  all  intellectual  and  social  development  is  wealth  ; 
for  as  long  as  men  are  so  situated  that  all  are  obliged  to  la- 
bor for  their  sustenance,  progress  is  impossible.  An  accumu- 
lation of  capital  is  therefore  the  first  step  of  civilization,  and 
this  accumulation  dej^ends  mainly  on  the  multiplication  of 
wants Hence  the  dreary,  sterile  torpor  that  charac- 
terized those  ages  in  which  the  ascetic  principle  has  been  su- 
preme, while  the  civilizations  which  have  attained  the  high- 
est perfection  have  been  those  of  ancient  Greece  and  modern 
Europe,  which  were  most  opposed  to  it."  * 

The  monastic  system  is  one  of  numerous  Christianizing 
and  civilizing  ai^pliances  pertaining  to  the  Church.  The 
members  of  these  monastic  societies  have  not  indeed  adopted 
the  "  political  economy  "  or  the  "  industrial  philosophies  " 
of  "  modern  Europe,"  or  of  "  ancient  [pagan]  Greece  and 
Ivomc ;  "  nor  do  they  regard  "  wealth  as  the  basis  of  all  intel- 
lectual and  social  develoj^ment ; "  but  the  foundations  of  their 
political  economy,  and  of  their  intellectual,  social,  and  reli- 
gious philosophy,  were  laid  by  Jesus  Himself  when  he  indoc- 
trinated His  disciples,  in  His  sermon  on  the  Mount,  with  the 
following  divine  precepts : 

"  Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where 
moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through 
and  steah 

"  But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where 
neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not 
break  through  nor  steal. 

"For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  Avill  your  heart  be 
also. 

*  Lccky,  "  RaHonaHsm  in  Europe,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  3 17,  348,  350. 
IG* 


370  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

"  No  man  can  serve  two  masters  :  for  either  lie  will  bate 
the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or  else  he  will  hold  to  the  one, 
and  desj^ise  the  other.  Ye  cannot  serve  "God  and  mam- 
mon." * 

Pagan  Rome  and  Greece,  as  w^ell  as  Judaic  Galilee,  re- 
garded wealth  and  the  sensual  gratification  it  commanded, 
whether  intellectual,  social,  or  physical,  as  tlie  highest  earthly 
good,  the  foundation  of  human  progress  and  happiness. 
Lecky,  and  his  fellow-rationalists,  as  well  as  the  Puritan  ele- 
ment of  Europe  and  the  United  States,  coincide  in  this  pagan 
idea.  Like  their  ancient  prototypes,  they  value  wealth  for 
the  new  wants  and  desires  it  develops  and  gratifies,  and  for 
its  general  expansion  of  the  area  of  human  enjoyment,  by  the 
introduction  of  objects  which  appeal  to  the  sensual,  intellect- 
tual,  and  useful  elements  of  man's  nature. 

The  ascetic  philosophy,  as  Mr.  Lecky  is  pleased  to  term  it, 
is  directly  opposed  to  this  idea,  from  the  simple  fact  that  its 
advocates  are  Christians,  and  not  pagans.  The  Divine  Mas- 
ter denounced  the  industrial  philosophies  of  the  Greeks,  Ro- 
mans, and  Jews,  of  His  day,  and  presented  to  the  world  a 
more  lofty  standard  of  human  development  and  progress. 
The  humble  advocates  of  the  monastic  system  have  simply 
adopted  the  code  of  Jesus,  rather  than  that  of  "  ancient 
Greece  or  modern  Europe."  These  men  did  not  regard  tlie 
"  multiplication  of  desires  and  wants  "  as  the  true  "  basis  of 
intellectual  and  social  development,"  or  of  the  general  prog- 
ress and  welfare  of  mankind.  In  one  sense,  the  "  watchword 
of  their  philosophy  was  mortification;"  but  in  the  main,  their 
watchword  was  "  development."  Their  philosophy  morti- 
fies the  unruly  passions  and  desires  of  the  heart,  but  it  de- 
velops the  sentiment  of  love  to  God  and  man,  and  the  elevat- 
ing emotions,  affections,  and  aspirations  which  result  from 
this  sentiment.  It  ranks  intellectual,  moral,  and  social  treas- 
ures much  higher  than  treasures  of  gold  and  silver.  It  cul- 
tivates the  spiritual  more  than  the  physical  man.  It  directs 
attention  more  to  the  future  than  to  the  present. 

*  Mattbcw  vi.  19-24. 


THE   rUEITAN    SYSTEM   IN    AMERICA.  oTi 

The  watchword  of  the  Rationalistic  and  Puritan  philoso- 
phy is  also  "  development " — but,  of  what  ?  Of  the  peculiar 
material  civilization  of  pagan  Rome  and  Greece  ;  the  deifica- 
tion of  wealth ;  the  cultivation  and  gratification  of  sensual 
desires  and  wants  as  the  ultimate  end  of  life ;  the  subordina- 
tion of  the  spiritual  to  the  physical  element. 

But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  monastic  system 
is  only  one  of  the  many  elements  of  Catholicism.  These 
oro'anizations  were  founded  to  enable  individuals  to  devote 
themselves  more  completely  to  the  service  of  Gocl,  Their 
rules  inculcate  self-abnegation,  and  a  surrender  of  both  mind 
and  body  to  the  cause  of  religion.  The  beneficent  influences 
of  these  organizations  have  been  inestimable;  for  they  have 
been  employed  by  the  Church  as  vanguards  in  propagating 
Christianity,  and  in  difiusing  the  blessings  of  civilization 
among  the  nations  of  the  world.  In  this  connection,  we  can- 
not do  better  tlian  to  allow  Mr.  Lecky  to  aid  us  in  the  refu- 
tation of  some  of  his  own  calumnies  against  the  Church,  and 
her  ascetic  and  other  organizations.  "By  consolidating," 
says  Lecky, "  the  heterogeneous  and  anarchical  elements  that 
succeeded  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  empire,  by  infusing  into 
Christendom  the  conception  of  a  bond  of  unity  that  is  superior 
to  the  divisions  of  nationhood,  and  of  a  moral  tie  that  is  supe- 
rior to  force,  by  softening  slavery  into  serfdom,  and  preparing 
the  way  for  the  ultimate  emancipation  of  labor,  Catholicism 
laid  the  very  foundations  of  modern  civilization.  Herself 
the  most  admirable  of  all  organizations,  there  was  formed 
beneath  her  influence  a  vast  network  of  organizations,  polit- 
ical, municipal,  and  social^  which  supplied  a  large  proportion 
of  the  materials  of  almost  every  modern  structure."  * 

Adopting  this  industrial  philosophy,  nearly  all  the  dis- 
tinguished authors  to  Avhom  we  have  alluded  have  drawn 
certain  comparisons  between  Catholic  and  Protestant  com- 
munities, and  their  conclusions  have  been  in  favor  of  the 
civilization  of  the  latter.  Thus,  Macaulay  has  contrasted  the 
United  States  and  Mexico;  Italy  and  Scotland;  Sj^ain  and 

*  "  Kationalism  in  Europe,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  37. 


372  CHEISTIANITY    AND    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

Holland ;  Prussia  and.  Ireland,  etc.  Candor  should  have  in- 
duced this  eminent  author  to  have  made  more  equal  and  just 
comparisons,  as  France  with  England;  Belgium  with  Hol- 
land ;  Austria  with  Prussia  ;  Sardinia  and  Spain  with  Swe- 
den and  Denmark  ;  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil  with  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  and  other  recently  converted  nations.  By  such 
a  classification  he  could  have  brought  together  for  com23ari- 
son  peoples  of  similar  natural  and  acquired  mental  capacities, 
and  possessing  similar  advantages  for  acquiring  knowledge 
and  skill  in  tlie  useful  and  ornamental  arts.  How  unjust  to 
contrast  the  Anglo-Saxon  of  the  United  States  with  the 
recently  converted  Aztec  of  Mexico,  or  with  the  descendants 
of  the  native  Indians  of  Peiii  and  Brazil !  How  unfair  to 
compare  the  subjugated  and  oppressed  inhabitants  of  Italy 
and  Ireland  w^ith  the  comparatively  free  and  independent 
peoples  of  Scotland,  Germany,  and  Switzerland  !  We  shall 
allude  to  this  subject  again,  and  institute  some  just  compari- 
sons. 

When  Anaxagoras,  the  master  of  Socrates,  was  once  ac- 
cused of  not  having  sufficient  love  for  his  country  because 
he  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  political  affairs,  the  philoso- 
pher thus  replied:  "  Be  silent,  my  friend,  I  love  my  country 
'inost  dearlyi^''  pointing  to  heaven.  The  true  Catholic  also 
always  looks  upward  for  the  goal  of  his  highest  aspirations 
and  hopes,  and  for  his  permanent  abiding-place.  If,  there- 
fore, he  is  sometimes  behind  his  Puritanical  and  Pationalistic 
neighbors  in  the  race  for  wealth  and  worldly  influence,  it  is 
because  he  regards  heaven  and  not  earth  as  his  permanent 
home. 

No  investigator  of  history  will  deny  the  fact  that  Catholic 
civilization,  w^hen  brought  to  bear  upon  heathen  nations,  has 
always  Christianized  them,  elevated  them  morally,  socially, 
and  physically,  and  preserved  them  as  nations.  It  Avill  also 
be  conceded,  that  whenever  and  wherever  Puritan  civiliza- 
tion has  been  brought  to  bear  upon  the  heathen,  it  has  either 
confirmed  them  in  their  idolatry,  or  driven  them  to  atheism ; 
that  it  has  developed  in  them  evil  propensities,  evil  passions, 


THE   rUEITAN   SYSTEM   IN    AMERICA.  373 

new  and  previously  unknown  vices,  and,  finally,  either  par- 
t'lally  or  totally  exterminated  them  from  the  earth.  The  his- 
tory of  missions  in  China,  Japan,  India,  Ceylon,  Afiica,  Aus- 
tralia, the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  and  in  Nortli  and  South 
America,  demonstrates  these  facts  conclusively. 

'Marshall,  in  his  "Christian  Missions,"  after  presenting  a 
vast  array  of  historical  facts  derived  from  authentic  Protes- 
tant sources,  upon  the  subject  of  missions  in  all  parts  of  tlie 
world,  thus  writes :  "  We  have  not  debated  claims  or  doc- 
trines which  a  text  may  prove  or  disprove,  but  we  have  con- 
templated the  Church  and  the  sects  in  action.  This  is  the 
test,  complete  and  decisive,  which  was  indicated  by  our  Lord 
Himself,  and  we  have  seen  what  it  has  revealed.  Every- 
where He  has  manifested,  by  manifold  and  persuasive  tokens. 
His  unceasing  presence  with  the  Church ;  everywhere  He 
lias  refused  so  much  as  to  recognize,  except  in  anger,  the 
barren  ministry  of  the  sects.  In  presence  of  such  facts,  uni- 
form in  their  character  and  universal  in  their  range,  we  may 
not  unreasonably  ask  our  Protestant  adversaries  wliethev 
they  expect  us  any  longer  to  treat  seriously  pretensions 
which  history  has  disposed  of,  and  which  God  has  judged 
before  our  eyes."*  In  the  "Works  of  W.  E.  Channingj" 
p.  275,  we  find  the  following  tribute  to  the  ancient  Church  : 
"  Her  missionaries,  who  haA^e  carried  Christianity  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth ;  her  Sisters  of  Charity,  who  have  carried  relief 
and  solace  to  the  most  hopeless  want  and  pain ;  do  not  these 
teach  us  that  in  the  Romish  Church  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
found  a  home  ?  " 

In  alluding  to  the  influences  of  the  two  religious  systems 
upon  civilization,  we  have  seen  that  Protestants  boastingly 
contrast  the  United  States  with  Mexico.  They  point  to  the 
great  emporiums  of  commerce,  to  the  majestic  public  and 
private  edifices,  to  the  multitude  of  manufactories,  steam- 
ships, railroads,  and  other  indications  of  wealth  and  pros- 
perity which  are  everywhere  to  be  found  in  the  Anglo-Saxon 
Union,  and  then  to  the  more  modest  pretensions  of  Catholic 

*  Vol.  i,,  p.  452.. 


874-  CIIEISTIANITT   AND    ITS   COI^FLICTS. 

Mexico,  ill  proof  of  the  superiority  of  Protestant  over  Catho- 
lic civilization.  This  superficial  view  involves  a  monstrous 
fallacy,  and  covers  over  some  of  the  most  gigantic  national 
crimes  on  record.  Let  us  briefly  glance  at  a  few  of  the  facts 
connected  with  the  settlement  and  the  civilization  of  the  two 
countries. 

When  Mexico  was  first  colonized  by  the  Catholics,  and 
North  America  by  the  Puritans,  each  country  was  inhabited 
by  many  millions  of  the  original  owners  and  natives  of  the 
soil.  In  Mexico  the  hardy  adventurers  and  pioneers  w^ere 
always  accomj^anied  by  priests  and  missionaries,  who  were 
instructed  by  the  Spanish  king  and  queen,  and  by  the  Roman 
pontiff,  to  devote  their  entire  energies  to  the  conversion  of 
the  natives  to  Christianity,  and  to  guard  them  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  abuses  and  wrongs  of  mercenary  adven- 
turers. History  tells  how  vf  ell  these  works  were  performed 
by  such  devoted  men  as  the  Dominican  and  Franciscan 
priests  and  missionaries  Las  Casas,  Zumarraga,  Martin  de 
Valencia,  Francisco  de  Soto,  Toribio,  Motolinia,  Peter  of 
Ghent,  Domingo  de  Betanzos,  Ortiz,  Julian  Garces,  and 
numerous  others.  History  informs  us  that  these  wild  natives 
were  taught  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  were  induced  to  aban- 
don their  ancient  and  bloody  superstitions,  to  adopt  the 
habits,  customs,  and  mode  of  life  of  their  new  teachers  and 
pastors,  and  to  offer  up  their  2}rayers  daily  to  the  true  God. 
History  also  teaches  us  that  their  descendants  still  live  in  the 
land  of  their  heathen  ancestors — a  Christianized,  civilized, 
growing,  and  moderately  prosperous  nation.  Six  millious 
of  these  Christianized  descendants  of  tlie  heathen,  idol-wor- 
shipping Aztecs  now  own  and  inhabit  the  territories  of  their 
fathers,  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  comforts  and  ap- 
pliances of  civilized  life,  and  they  regard  with  love  and  ven- 
eration the  glorious  Church  and  priesthood  which  rescued 
them  from  barbarism,  and  placed  them  among  the  civilized 
nations  of  the  earth.  It  is  quite  true  that  this  Mexican  In- 
dian race  is  inferior  by  nature  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  or  the 
Frank.     It  is  quite  true  that  the  children  of  those  wbo  were 


THE   rUEITAN    SYSTEM    IN   AMEKICA.  375 

rude  savages  only  a  few  generations  ago  have  not  tlie  intelli- 
gence, or  the  energy,  or  the  enterprise  of  the  shrewd,  money- 
loving  Puritan.  It  is  quite  true  that  the  souls  of  these  sini- 
plc-raiuded  children  of  Montezuma  are  not  wholly  absorbed 
in  the  love  of  gain,  and  of  worldly  pride  and  ambition;  but, 
nevertheless,  they  live,  and  can  look  upon  the  consecrated 
graves  of  their  fathers  back  to  the  days  of  Cortez;  tJiey 
still  live^  and  can  worship,  in  spirit  and  in  truth,  the  God 
who  created  them  and  gave  them  their  country;  they  still 
live,  and  can  behold  cities,  towns,  churches,  schools,  and  cul- 
tivated fields  where  their  fathers  only  saw  dense  forests  and 
savage  v/ildernesses ;  they  still  live,  and  bless  the  Church 
and  the  priests  who  have  been  their  preservers  and  bene- 
factors. 

When  New  England  was  first  colonized  by  the  Puritans 
they  were  likewise  accompanied  by  Calvinistic  ministers.  In 
no  sense  were  these  men  missionaries,  or  friends  of  the  In- 
dians. They  always  resided  in  the  settlements,  and  never 
went  cut  boldly  to  dwell  with  the  savages — to  teach  and  to 
convert  them,  as  has  ever  been  the  habit  of  the  Catholic 
missionary  at  all  times  and  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Their 
chief  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  natives  consisted  in  plying  them 
with  Calvinistic  ideas  of  predestination,  the  justification  of 
the  elect,  and  Xew  England  rum,  whenever  they  came  into 
the  settlements,  and  in  threatening  them  with  terrible  punish- 
ments here  and  hereafter  if  they  refused  to  accept  them. 
These  early  Puritans  cared  not  for  the  souls  of  the  poor 
aborigines ;  but  they  coveted  their  lands,  and  their  persons 
as  slaves.  We  shall  presently  show  how,  stej)  by  step,  the 
Puritans  corrupted,  perverted,  wronged,  robbed,  enslaved, 
and  finally  exterminated  the  Indians  of  the  Eastern  States. 
ISTot  a  single  descendant  of  the  original  Eastern  tribes  oiow 
lives  to  bless  the  day  when  the  Puritans  landed  at  Plymouth 
Rock.  Not  a  single  representative  of  the  confiding  and  hos- 
pitable chiefs  and  warriors  who  welcomed,  fed,  and  shel- 
tered tlie  wretched  pilgrims  of  the  Mayflower,  now  lives  to 
thank  the  God  of  the  Cliristian  for  the  inestimable  boon  of 


376  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

Christianity  and  civilization.  'Not  a  single  remnant  of  a 
once  noble  race  can  now  be  found  to  illustrate  the  beneficent 
workings  of  the  Puritan  system  from  a  Christian  or  humani- 
tarian point  of  view.  The  pantheistic  goddess  of  riches  now 
presides  over  the  lands  which  were  once  the  hunting-grounds 
of  the  i^oor  Indian;  and  his  plundered  and  exterminated 
people  sleep  deeply  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  their  graves 
unknown  and  unnoted  except  by  the  Great  Spirit,  who  will 
one  day  judge  the  two  races,  the  exterminators  and  the  ex- 
terminated, face  to  face. 

Thus  we  may  readily  understand  why  the  United  States  is 
more  prosperous,  in  a  material  point  of  view,  than  Mexico. 
The  Puritans  of  the  N'orth  have  annihilated  the  Indian  race 
of  the  Eastern  States  from  off  the  earthy  and  have  taken  pos- 
session of  their  vast  territories  !  Enriched  by  this  plundered 
soil,  and  having  obliterated  even  the  very  graves  of  the 
extinct  nations,  these  Puritan  civilizers  made  rapid  prog- 
ress in  agriculture,  in  manufactures,  in  commerce,  and  in 
the  arts.  The  Puritan  parson  can  point  with  complacency  to 
the  wealth  and  culture  of  Protestant  America ;  but  can  he 
show  us  any  of  the  descendants  of  the  millions  of  human 
beings  from  whom  this  wealth  has  been  wrested  ?  The  rob- 
ber and  the  pirate  may  revel  in  pomp  and  luxury,  from  gold 
and  riches  which  have  been  torn  from  murdered  victims ;  but 
retribution  comes  sooner  or  later.  The  Romans  of  the  Au- 
gustan age  could  j)oint  with  pride  to  their  works  of  art,  sci- 
ence, and  literature  ;  but  they  were  idolaters,  libei'tines,  and 
monsters  in  sin  and  crime.  So  may  the  Puritan  of  this  cen- 
tury point  to  what  he  is  pleased  to  term  the  advanced  civili- 
zation of  the  United  States  ;  but  this  peculiar  civilization  has 
been  achieved  by  the  wanton  destruction  and  robbery  of  entire 
nations  of  simple  and  naturally  harmless  creatures  of  God. 

Catholics  can  refer  with  pride  and  a  good  conscience  to 
the  six  millions  of  Mexicans  who  have  been  converted  from 
barbarism  to  Christianity  and  civilization,  as  well  as  to  the 
many  millions  of  converted  natives,  who,  during  the  j^ast  two 
centuries,  have  gone  in  peace  to  the  land  of  spirits  to  await 


THE   PUKITAN   SYSTEM   IN   AMERICA.  377 

their  final  judgment ;  but  where  are  the  descendants  of  the  six 
millions  of  the  North  American  Indians  who  once  owned  and 
inliabited  the  United  States  ?  Upon  the  souls  of  the  Puri- 
tans must  forever  rest  the  deliberate,  lieartless,  damning 
crime  of  exterminating  these  millions  of  fellow-men  whom 
they  might  have  converted,  civilized,  saved.  Xo  pretext,  no 
sophistry,  can  ever  palliate  in  the  slightest  degree  this  crime 
of  crimes. 

While  the  Catholic  priests  and  missionaries  of  Mexico 
were  converting  its  pagan  inhabitants  to  Christianity,  and 
teaching  them  agriculture  and.  the  useful  arts,  the  Puritan 
parsons  of  'Nevi  England  were  aiding  and  abetting  their 
flocks  to  destroy  the  Mohcgans,  the  Narragansets,  Pequods, 
Abenakis,  and  other  neighboring  tribes,  Avith  fire  and  sword, 
as  we  shall  soon  show. 

The  practical  fruits  of  the  two  civilizations  are  as  follows : 
In  Mexico,  a  living  nation  of  Christianized  and  civilized 
natives  of  the  soil ;  and  in  the  United  States,  a  new  and 
thrifty  race  of  foreign  plunderers  who  stalk  and  riot  proudly 
over  the  crumbling  bones  of  those  whom  their  peculiar  civil- 
ization has  annihilated  in  their  heathenism  and  idolatry. 
The  natives  of  both  countries  were  naturally  inferior  to  the 
European  strangers  who  landed  on  their  shores,  and  this  very 
inferiority  placed  them  in  the  power  of  the  latter,  to  serve, 
elevate,  and  Christianize  them,  or  to  betray,  rob,  and  destroy 
them.  Let  the  impartial  reader  contemplate  tlie  past  and 
present  situation  of  the  two  countries,  and  judge  betAveen 
them. 

In  order  to  demonstrate  clearly  our  j-tosition  respecting 
the  influence  of  Puritan  civilization  upon  the  aborigines  of 
the  Eastern  States,  we  present  a  summary  of  facts,  derived 
chiefly  from  the  "  Colonial  Pecords  of  Massachusetts  Bay," 
Barry's  "  History,"  Bancroft's  "  History,"  and  other  standard 
Protestant  sources. 

It  is  now  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since  the 
Puritans  landed  at  Plymouth  Pock.  They  found  themselves 
strangers  upon  a  vast  continent,  owned  and  populated  by  mil- 


378  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

lions  of  ignorant  and  simple-minded  red  men.  These  prinii- 
tive  natives  and  proprietors  of  tlie  continent  worshipped  the 
only  God  they  had  ever  heard  or  thought  of,  in  simplicity 
and  in  truth.  Their  laws  were  simple,  practical,  and  admir- 
ably adopted  to  their  limited  wants  and  desires.  With  but 
few  acquired  and  artificial  tastes,  and  no  ambition  beyond 
excelling  in  war  or  the  chase,  these  red  men  of  nature  lived 
and  acted  in  accordance  with  the  knowledge  and  experience 
which  their  Creator  had  given  them.  The  white  man  of 
civilized  Europe  worshipped  the  Triune  God  with  the  lights 
of  Christianity  and  civilization  before  him,  but  daily  and 
hourly  violated  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  the  divine  com- 
mandments. The  untutored  Indian  adored  the  Great  Spirit 
who  had  created  him,  reasoned  and  acted  in  accordance  with 
the  intelligence  he  had  received,  and,  with  but  few  vices  and 
few  faults,  accomplished  his  earthly  destiny.  If  the  civilized 
white  man  possessed  knowledge  and  was  skilled  in  the  arts 
and  sciences,  he  was  also  selfish,  mercenary,  and  self-indul- 
gent. The  red  man  was  ignorant,  rude,  and  primitive  in  all 
things,  but  he  was  hospitable,  truthful,  brave,  and  for  the 
most  part  unselfish. 

In  every  instance  where  the  aborigines  had  not  come  in 
contact  with  the  white  man,  and  was  ignorant  of  his  vices, 
he  was  confiding,  hospitable,  docile,  and  easily  subjected  to 
Christianizing  and  civilizing  influences.  In  most  cases  he 
regarded  the  wliite  strangers  as  superior  beings — children  of 
the  sun,  and  possessing  supernatural  powers.  Every  senti- 
ment of  his  nature  prompted  him,  therefore,  to  cultivate  the 
closest  relations  of  amity  and  trust  with  his  powerful  guests. 
The  native  savage  was  not  naturally  vicious  or  selfish.  His 
religious,  moral,  and  social  principles  might  all  have  been 
comprised  within  a  short  paragraph,  and  yet  he  fully  recog- 
nized the  sujoerintending  power  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  the 
mutual  rights  and  obligations  pertaining  to  individuals  and 
communities.  If  he  gave  way  to  anger  and  vengeance,  it 
was  always  tlie  result  of  a  supposed  insult  or  wrong.  This 
sensitiveness  to  injury  and  wrong,  a  belief  in  the  stern  neces- 


THE   PUEITAN    SYSTEM   IN   AltlERICA.  379 

sity  of  redressing  tlicm  by  bloodshed,  were  sentiments  over 
deeply  rooted  in  the  Indian  breast.  To  excel  in  war  and  in 
the  chase,  and  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  his  enemies,  were 
three  cardinal  virtues  of  the  North  American  savage,  and  he 
would  shrink  from  no  danger,  no  exposure,  no  suffering  in  the 
accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  But  the  duties  of  hospitality 
and  the  private  and  public  weal  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
at  peace,  were  scrupulously  respected. 

It  is  commonly  asserted  that  the  Indian  is  naturally  cruel 
and  bloodthirsty ;  but  history  does  not  confirm  this  assertion. 
In  making  up  an  estimate  of  the  Indian  character,  let  it  not 
be  forgotten  that  all  our  records  and  data  are  ex  parte ^  and 
from  the  stand-point  of  the  white  man.  Could  some  native 
historian  2)ortray  the  monstrous  wrongs  and  cruelties  which 
were  perpetrated  upon  his  confiding  and  simple  people,  when 
the  first  white  adventurers  landed  upon  different  portions  of 
the  continent,  he  would  rouse  the  horror  and  uidignation  of 
the  whole  civilized  world.  If  the  Indian  has  become  savage 
and  revengeful,  the  treachery  and  outrages  of  the  white  man 
luive  made  him  so.  If  undying  hatred  rankles  in  the  breasts 
of  the  now  powerless  remnant  of  the  red  man,  the  cause  lies 
at  the  doors  of  their  white  oppressors. 

In  illustration  of  the  accuracy  of  the  statements  here  ad- 
vanced, we  cite  the  following  historical  facts ; 

In  1492  Columbus  discovered  America.  Wherever  he 
landed  he  found  the  natives  confiding,  kindly  disposed,  and 
hospitable.  They  regarded  the  white  stranger  as  superior 
beings  who  had  came  among  them  for  their  good,  and  they 
welcomed  them  wdth  rude  tokens  of  affection  and  fraternity. 

Soon  after  the  discovery  of  Columbus,  according  to  Ban- 
croft, "  a  throng  of  adventurers  eagerly  engaged  in  voyages 
to  exj^lore  the  New  World,  or  to  plunder  its  inhabitants." 
In  1524,  when  John  Verazzani  landed  on  the  coast  of  North 
Carolina,  the  natives,  dressed  in  skins,  received  hiui  with 
pleasure  and  hospitality,  "  as  they  had  not  yet  learned  to  fear 
the  white  man.  The  savages  were  more  humane  than  their 
guests.     A   young   sailor,  who  had   nearly  been   drowned. 


380  cimiSTiAmTT  amd  its  conflicts. 

was  revived  by  the  courtesy  of  the  natives  ;  while  the  voy- 
agers robbed  a  mother  of  her  child,  and  attempted  to  kidnap 
a  young  woman."  * 

ISTumerous  facts  might  be  adduced  to  the  same  purport. 
Among  the  natural  traits  of  the  native  Indian,  were  simplici- 
ty, truthfulness,  frankness,  hospitality,  sentiments  of  friend- 
ship and  gratitude,  and  ambition  to  be  a  great  hunter  and 
warrior.  Had  these  natural  traits  been  properly  cultivated 
and  developed  by  the  first  colonizers  of  America,  the  Indian 
would  have  been  Christianized,  civilized,  and  elevated  in  the 
scale  of  humanity.  Had  Christian  love  and  simple  justice 
been  brought  to  bear,  instead  of  plunder,  deception,  and  out- 
raore,  an  entire  continent  of  God's  creatures  mis^ht  have  been 
reclaimed  to  Christianity,  civilization,  and  happiness,  and  a 
noble  race  been  perpetuated. 

When  the  Huguenots,  under  the  auspices  of  Coligny  and 
Laudonniere,  established  themselves  in  Carolina  in  1564,  their 
intercourse  with  the  natives  was  characterized  by  continual 
acts  of  cruelty,  oppression,  injustice,  theft,  and  murder. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh  sent  his  colony  to  the  New  World  in 
1584.  "After  they  had  landed  on  the  island  of  Roanoke," 
says  Bancroft,  "  they  Avere  entertained  by  Granganimeo,  the 
mother  of  the  king ;  and  the  people  were  most  gentle,  loving, 
and  faithful,  void  of  all  guile  and  treason,  and  such  as  lived 
after  the  manner  of  the  golden  age."  Two  years  after  the 
landing  of  this  colony,  an  act  of  unparalleled  atrocity  was  per- 
petrated upon  the  unoffending  Indians  by  the  English.  Ban- 
croft relates  the  facts  of  the  case  as  follows  :  "  Ralj^h  Lane, 
one  of  Raleigh's  agents  in  Carolina,  on  one  occasion  invited 
Wingina,  a  powerful  native  king,  and  his  followers,  to  a  con- 
ference with  himself  and  his  English  friends.  The  Indians 
quietly  and  peacefully  granted  the  request,  and  presented 
themselves  at  the  appointed  time.  No  sooner  had  they  as- 
sembled, than  a  signal  was  given  by  Lane,  and  the  unhaj^py 
king  and  his  principal  followers  were  put  to  death  without 
mercy."  f 

*  Bancroft's  "  Hist,  of  United  States,"  vol.  i.,  p.  16.     f  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  100. 


THE    PUKITAN    SYSTEiSI    IN    AMEKiCA.  381 

In  1637  the  Pequod  tribe,  numbering  more  tlian  seven^ 
hundred  warriors,  besides  many  women  and  children,  and  in- 
babitiilg  the  banks  of  the  Mystic  River  in  Connecticut,  were 
stealthily  attacked  by  the  Puritan  Christians  under  John 
Mason,  and  by  fire  and  sword  were  nearly  exterminated.  The 
few  hundreds  who  survived  the  carnage  wei^e  made  slaves  by 
their  civilized  conquerors.  How  wonderful  the  progress  of 
Puritan  civilization  in  these  early  days  of  the  nation  ! 

A  favorite  mode  of  these  ancient  "blood-hounds  of  Zion," 
of  ridding  the  territory  of  their  v>'ild  neighbors,  was  to  incite 
one  tribe  against  another,  in  order  that  they  might  destroy 
each  other.  lS[ot  unfrequently  they  would  ally  themselves 
temporarily  with  a  particular  band,  and  aid  them  in  the  work 
of  extermination.  Thus  the  Puritans  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  incited  the  Mohegans  against  the  Narragansets 
in  1G43,  to  the  serious  injury  of  both  tribes,  and  by  treacher- 
ously delivering  up  the  great  chief  of  the  latter,  Miantono- 
moh,  to  Uncas,  for  execution,  destroyed  their  power  as  a 
tribe. 

Massasoit,  the  great  chief  of  the  Narragansets,  first  v\^el- 
comed  the  Pilgrims  to  New  England,  and  gave  them  food, 
shelter,  and  protection  in  their  dire  necessities.  Had  they 
been  brothers  instead  of  strangers,  the  noble  monarch  of  the 
forest  could  not  have  displayed  more  friendship,  sympatliy, 
and  kindness  than  he  spontaneously  tendered  to  the  starving 
immigrants.  As  a  Christian  reciprocation  of  this  savage 
aflfection  and  hospitality,  the  Puritans,  in  1676,  having  now 
become  powerful,  attacked  King  Philip,  son  of  their  early 
benefactor,  and  then  chief  of  the  JSTarragansets,  and  killed 
him  with  nearly  all  his  tribe.  Another  characteristic  in- 
stance of  Puritan  civilization  and  gratitude. 

Bancroft  details  the  circumstances  of  another  atrocious 
crime  committed  by  the  Dutch  Calvinists  of  New  York  in 
1643,  at  the  instigation  of  their  infamous  director-general, 
Kieft.  "  In  the  stillness  of  a  dark  winter's  night,  the  soldiers 
at  Fort  Orange,  joined  by  freebooters  from  Dutch  privateers, 
and  led  by  a  guide  who  knew  every  by-path  and  nook  wliere 


382  CnKISTIATs'ITT   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

the  savages  nestled,  crossed  the  Hudson,  for  the  purpose  of 
destruction.  The  naked  and  unsuspecting  tribes  could  offer 
little  resistance ;  the  noise  of  musketry  mingled  with  the  yell 
of  the  victims.  Nearly  a  hundred  perished  in  the  carnage. 
Daybreak  did  not  end  its  horrors ;  men  might  be  seen  man- 
gled and  helpless,  suffering  from  cold  and  hunger ;  children 
were  tossed  into  the  stream,  and  as  their  parents  plunged  to 
their  rescue,  the  soldiers  prevented  their  landing,  that  both 
child  and  parent  might  drown."  * 

From  this,  and  many  other  examples  which  might  be  ad- 
duced, it  will  be  observed  that  the  baneful  influences  of  Cal- 
vinistic  colonization  are  not  confined  to  any  particular  na- 
tionality or  location. 

The  government  of  ISTew  England  treacherously  seized  a 
number  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Abenakis  in  1721,  and  held  them 
arbitrarily  as  hostages.  A  ransom  v/as  paid  for  them  by 
their  brethren,  and  a  solemn  promise  was  made  to  deliver 
them  up,  but  they  were  nevertheless  retained  by  the  faithless 
whites.  This  A^olation  of  faith  excited  sentiments  of  indig- 
nation among  the  Indians,  and  a  war  was  the  result. 

In  1722  the  same  government  publicly  offered  a  bounty 
of  one  hundred  pounds  for  every  Indian  scalp  delivered  to 
them.  In  1724  New  England  Christians  made  an  attack 
upon  the  Indians  at  Old  Town,  and,  among  other  atrocities, 
murdered  and  mutilated  Sebastian  Rasles,  a  venerable  mis- 
sionary, aged  sixty-seven  years.  Father  Rasles  had  been  a 
faithful  and  devoted  missionary  among  the  savages  for  more 
than  thirty-seven  years  ;  but  he  was  a  Catholic,  which  was 
a  deadly  sin  in  the  eyes  of  the  Puritans. 

From  these  extracts  it  will  be  observed  that  elements  of 
distrust  were  generally  infused  into  the  minds  of  the  Indians 
by  the  earliest  Puritan  discoverers  and  colonizers.  Contact 
with  the  strangers  always  revealed  selfishness,  avarice,  injus- 
tice, cruelty.  The  hunting-grounds,  the  lakes,  and  the  rivers 
which  had  been  given  them  by  the  Great  Spirit  for  their  sus- 
tenance and  pleasure,  and  which  they  had  enjoyed  without 

*  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  290. 


THE   PUEITAN   SYSTEM   IN   AMEEICA.  383 

interruption  from  time  immemorial,  were  successively  wrest- 
ed from  them  by  the  new-comers  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
while  they  were  steadily  driven  back  to  seek  new  hunting- 
grounds,  and  perhaps  to  iDerish  from  exposure  and  hunger. 
An  exception,  however,  to  this  rule  of  oppression  and  out- 
rage may  be  found  in  the  Catholic  colony  of  Mary  land,  under 
the  auspices  of  Lord  Baltimore,  and  his  brother.  Sir  John 
Cnlvert.  Instead  of  the  religious  intolerance  and  persecution 
which  characterized  the  Puritan  colony  already  established 
in  Virginia,  the  settlers  of  Maryland  cordially  invited  men 
of  all  religious  and  jDolitical  sects  to  take  up  their  abode  with 
them,  guaranteeing  them  by  laws  and  statutes  entire  reli- 
gious toleration,  and  equal  rights  with  themselves.  Toward 
the  neighboring  tribes  of  Indians  they  were  ever  just,  kind, 
and  disinterested.  Instead  of  oppressing,  plundering,  and 
alienating  them,  as  their  Virginia  neighbors  had  done,  they 
won  them  to  peace  and  fraternity,  by  words  of  love  and 
deeds  of  charity.  Such  was  the  condition  of  many  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Atlantic  coast  at  this  early  period. 

The  steps  of  Puritan  civilization  have  ever  been  marked 
by  intolerance,  injustice,  and  bloodshed.  Under  the  Phari- 
saical cloak  of  superior  morality  and  religion,  these  men  have 
always  been  energetic  in  discharging  simultaneously  bigoted 
sermons  from  their  mouths,  and  bullets  from  their  rifles,  at 
the  poor  Indians;  and  history  teaches  that  the  latter  have 
done  nearly  all  the  execution.  Steadily  has  the  white 
man  tramj)led  upon  the  rights  of  the  aborigines.  Day  by 
day  have  their  people  and  their  lands  diminished,  until  they 
scarcely  have  a  foothold  ujjon  the  continent.  Even  now  the 
few  poverty-stricken  and  scattered  remnants  of  the  original 
and  real  owners  of  the  country  are  robbed  of  their  annual 
pittances,  and  massacred  in  cold  blood,  by  the  rapacious 
agents  of  the  Puritanical  rule  and  civilization  of  18G7.  A 
reference  to  recent  official  developments  of  the  Indian  l>u- 
reau  respecting  the  Western  Indians,  and  to  the  general  sys- 
tem of  robbery  by  Indian  agents,  will  verify  our  assertion. 

So  far  as  the  red  man  is  concerned,  what  has  the  boasted 


384  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

civilization  of  Puritanism  in  ISTortli  America  accomplished  ? 
Has  the  religious,  social,  moral,  or  physical  condition  of 
these  millions  of  the  original  natives  and  owners  of  the  soil 
been  ameliorated  by  the  presence  and  practical  operation  of 
this  thrifty  civilization  ?  Have  the  Indians  increased  and 
multiplied,  have  their  sj^ears  and  tomahawks  been  converted 
into  implements  of  husbandry,  their  rude  superstitions  and 
practices  changed  for  Christian  maxims  and  Christian  love 
and  fraternity,  and  themselves,  as  a  race,  elevated  in  the 
scale  of  humanity  ?  Let  the  handful  of  haggard,  demoral- 
ized, and  inebriate  red  men,  scattered  here  and  there  through- 
out our  vast  continent,  and  the  score  or  two  of  graves  of  their 
nearly  extinct  race,  answer.  And  let  the  white  man  of  the 
United  States  blush  with  shame  when  he  prates  of  Christian 
civilization  and  human  progress. 


CHAPTER   XXYIII. 

PURITAN      INTOLERANCE. 

The  Pilgrims  and  their  desceuclants  have  always  declared 
that  the  Calvinists  were  forced  to  leave  England  and  seek  a 
home  in  the  New  World  in  consequence  of  the  persecutions 
of  the  AngKcan  Church,  and  their  irrepressible  yearning 
after  "  freedom  of  mind,"  "  freedom  of  conscience,"  and  "  re- 
li<}-ious  toleration."  That  the  minds  of  men  mio-ht  become 
enfranchised  from  the  tyrannies  of  Church  and  State,  these 
innocent  Calvinistic  lambs  were  willing  to  sunder  the  tender 
ties  of  home  and  kindred,  and  to  brave  the  perils  of  the  sea, 
of  the  wilderness,  and  of  the  savage.  Under  the  pretence 
of  a  simple  and  earnest  desire  to  worshi])  God,  and  to  practise 
and  promulgate  the  beneficent  doctrines  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
among  the  wild  children  of  a  wild  continent,  these  religious 
pioneers  abandoned  the  comforts  and  security  of  the  Old 
World  for  the  privations  and  dangers  of  the  New  one.  What 
a  field  for  Christianity,  for  philanthropy,  and  the  arts  of  civil- 
ization !  What  a  glorious  opportunity  to  "  preacli  the  gos- 
pel to  every  creature,"  to  teach  and  j^ractise  the  heavenly 
virtues  of  universal  love,  charity,  justice,  and  fraternity,  and 
by  words  and  deeds  of  sympathy  and  mercy  to  win  the  rude 
natives  of  a  vast  continent  into  the  fold  of  Christian  brother- 
hood and  peace  ! 

These  men  had  personally  experienced  the  trials  and  in- 
conveniences of  Anglican  intolerance,  and  could  thcrefoi-e 
17 


386  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

fully  appreciate  the  blessings  of  religions  liberty  in  tlieir  new 
home.  They  had  been  persecuted  by  a  dominant  sect  for 
opinion's  sake,  and  it  was  to  be  presumed  that  they  wouM 
carry  with  them  to  America  principles  of  religious  toleration, 
and  equal  and  exact  justice  to  all  men.  With  such  large 
professions  of  Christian  zeal  and  moral  purity,  it  was  natural 
to  suppose  that  the  divine  precepts  of  Christ  and  His  apos- 
tles would  govern  them  in  the  foundation  and  establishment 
of  their  colony.  Professing  perfect  faith  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, advocates  of  private  interpretation,  and  recognizing 
their  sacred  teachings  as  the  only  true  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice, it  was  a  legitimate  inference  that  these  persecuted  exiles 
would  carry  with  them  principles  and  practices  more  conso- 
nant with  liberty,  progress,  and  happiness. 

The  ostensible  motives  of  the  Pilgrims  for  leaving  Eng- 
land and  seekinGi:  a  new  home  in  a  distant  wilderness  were 
highly  commendable.  Subjects  of  a  monarch  who  claimed 
and  exercised  absolute  temporal  and  spiritual  power  within 
his  dominions,  freedom  of  conscience  violated  by  stern  penal 
enactments,  and  the  observance  of  religious  duties  punished 
by  imprisonment  or  death,  it  was  praiseworthy  in  the  Cal- 
vinists  of  England  to  abandon  their  native  land,  and  to  seek 
a  new  continent,  where  religious  tolerance  and  universal  jus- 
tice might  obtain.  It  was  heroic  as  well  as  commendable  to 
sunder  all  ties  of  nationality,  kindred,  and  friendship,  and  to 
encounter  the  perils  of  a  long  voyage  and  an  unknown  wil- 
derness for  opinion's  sake.  It  was  philanthropic  to  wish  and 
to  intend  to  carry  to  the  savages  of  North  America  the 
Christian  religion,  and  to  elevate  them  from  barbarism  to 
Christianity  and  civilization.  Were  these  excellent  ideas 
and  intentions  consummated?  Was  the  golden  rule  of 
Christ — "  Do  unto  others  as  ye  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  you" — the  rule  of  faith  and  action  with  these  early 
colonizers  of  America  ?     Let  the  facts  of  history  answer ! 

During  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  Pilgrims 
of  the  Mayflower  landed  in  Massachusetts,  on  the  11th  of 
December,  1G20,  the  progress  of  the  colony  was  slow,  and 


PUrJTAN    ES'TOLEKANCE.  387 

productive  of  but  few  important  results.  The  dangers  and 
difficulties  of  the  enterprise,  the  numerical  inferiority  of  tlie 
whites  compared  with  the  savage  tribes  in  their  vicinity, 
and  the  almost  entire  lack  of  remunerative  productions, 
served  to  restrain  their  ambition  and  their  natural  instincts 
within  reasonable  bounds  during  the  first  tln'ee  decades  of 
their  settlement.  At  the  expiration  of  ten  years  the  colony 
contained  only  about  three  hundred  souls;  and  for  many 
subsequent  years  but  few  immigrants  arrived.  During  the 
first  thirty  years  of  this  pioneer  life  the  Pilgrims  vented  their 
exuberant  zeal  in  adding  to  their  territorial  possessions,  in 
establishing  new  plantations  in  various  colonies,  and  in 
thanking  God  that  they  were  not  like  other  men.  Up  to 
this  period  no  one  had  expressed  a  doubt  respecting  a  single 
article  of  the  Calvinistic  creed;  no  one  had  presumed  to  ex- 
tend his  thoughts  beyond  the  "  five  points  "  of  Calvin  ;  no 
one  had  dreamed  that  he  was  not  included  among  the  "  pre- 
destinated and  elect  of  God."  Thus  far  religious  intolerance 
had  nothing  to  feed  on.  As  yet  there  were  no  Quakers,  no 
Baptists,  no  Catholics,  no  Anglicans,  no  Independents,  no 
Unitarians,  no  witches  in  the  colony. 

In  1629  the  reign  of  Puritanical  intolerance  commenced. 
It  appears  that  two  brothers,  John  and  Samuel  Browne, 
made  their  appearance  at  Salem,  who  supported  the  liturgy 
of  the  Anglican  Church,  and  refused  to  conform  to  tiie  Cal- 
vinistic tenets,  which  the  Puritan  pastors,  Skelton  and  Ilig- 
ginson,  had  imposed  upon  the  churches  as  their  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  For  this  freedom  of  opinion  they  w^ere  de- 
nounced as  traitors,  their  worship  prohibited  as  mutinous, 
and  themselves  banished  to  England.  They  were  the  "  cop- 
perheads" of  1629 — " disunionists "  and  "disloyalists" — be- 
cause opposed  to  the  intolerance  and  radicalism  of  the  early 
Puritans. 

In  1631  a  law  was  enacted,  by  the  Puritans  of  Boston 
and  Salem,  that  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  exercise  the 
rights  of  citizenship,  to  vote,  to  hold  office,  or  have  any 
voice  in  political  matters,  who  was  not  a  member  of  one  of 


388  CHRISTIANITY   AKD   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  Calvinistic  churches.  These  original  iutolerants  of  Mas- 
sachusetts not  only  insisted  that  every  man  in  their  midst 
should  believe  in  their  peculiar  religious  doctrines,  but  that 
every  one  should  contribute  to  sustain  them,  and  attend 
regularly  at  public  worship.  No  outside  ideas  and  no  cere- 
monies were  permitted.  A  token  of  respect  to  the  Saviour, 
or  a  memento  of  His  passion  and  crucifixion,  would  have 
consigned  the  unfortunate  non-conformist  to  a  prison  or  to 
banishment. 

In  1631  Roger  Williams,  the  friend  and  pupil  of  Sir  Ed- 
ward Coke,  landed  in  Boston.  He  was  an  advocate  of  entire 
liberty  of  thought  and  of  free  speech.  With  such  sentiments, 
he  refused  to  conform  to  the  tenets  of  the  Puritans,  and  per- 
sisted in  announcing  his  own  opinions.  Several  times  he  was 
invited  to  act  as  pastor  in  Boston  and  Salem,  but  through 
the  efforts  of  the  Puritan  pastors  he  was  prohibited  from  ac- 
cepting the  invitations ;  and  finally,  in  1636,  after  great  perse- 
cutions and  personal  annoyances,  he  was  banished  from  the 
province  by  these  early  men  of  "  great  moral  ideas."  , 

For  a  similar  advocacy  of  freedom  of  religious  opinion 
Anne  Hutchinson  and  her  followers  were  exiled  from  Massa- 
chusetts in  1637,  as  persons  seditious  and  dangerous  to  the 
state.  With  the  intuitive  perceptions  of  an  enthusiastic  and 
philosophical  mind,  Anne  Hutchinson  perceived  the  dangers 
and  denounced  the  influence  of  the  bigoted  Puritanism  which 
had  already  established  itself  in  Massachusetts.  A  Protes- 
tant herself,  tliis  female  reformer  simj)ly  desired  that  liberty 
of  opinion,  and  of  private  judgment,  should  be  allowed  to 
develop  their  natural  and  legitimate  results,  whether  they 
eventuated  in  Calvinism,  Islamism,  Paganism,  Atheism,  or 
Socialism.  But  the  Puritans'set  around  their  j^rovince  an 
ecclesiastical  corral,  embracing  only  the  fatalistic  dogmas  of 
Calvin,  and  no  spiritual  sustenance  was  to  be  taken  outside 
of  this  narrow  enclosure ;  while  the  more  advanced  female 
reformer  and  her  Quaker  associates  recognized  no  boun- 
daries, no  limits  to  any  mind  or  any  capacity  in  deciding  upon 
the  mysterious  and  difiicult  questions  of  theology.     Within 


PUEITAN   INTOLEEANCE.  389 

the  circumscribed  limits  of  Massachusetts,  the  pastors  Iiad 
affixed  their  ecclesiastical  seal  upon  theological  doctrine,  and 
woe  be  to  him  or  them,  however  learned  or  gifted,  who  should 
presume  to  alter  or  doubt  a  single  oracular  decree  of  these 
expounders  of  the  mysteries  of  godliness  !  If  they  were  thus 
intolerant  against  individuals  of  their  own  sect,  who  can 
picture  the  horror  they  would  have  entertained  and  the 
atrocities  they  would  have  committed  against  an  intruding 
Anglican  or  Catholic  ? 

Two  Baptists,  Clarke  and  Holmes,  commenced  preaching 
their  doctrines  to  the  i^eople  of  Lynn  in  1651,  but  were 
speedily  arrested,  fined,  and  severely  whipped  for  their 
temerity.  The  persecutions  and  cruelties  of  the  Puritans 
were  never  more  active  than  at  this  period.  Every  form  of 
worship  but  the  established  one  was  punishable  as  a  civil 
ofience.  Imprisonment,  strij^es,  cropping  ofiT  ears,  perforating 
the  tongue  with  red-hot  irons,  exile,  and  even  death  Avere 
usual  penalties  against  Anabaptists,  Quakers,  and  other  dis- 
senting sects.  Thus,  in  1G59,  William  Robinson,  Marma- 
duke  Stephenson,  Nicholas  Davis,  William  Leddra,  AYenlock 
Christison,  and  Mary  Dyer  were  hung  by  these  Puritan 
civilizers  for  preaching  Quakerism  in  Massachusetts.*  Men 
like  Cotton  Mather,  Skelton,  Higginson,  and  Parris  con- 
stituted themselves  censors  of  the  public  conscience,  and, 
with  despotic  cruelty,  sought  to  bend  the  necks  of  all  the 
people  under  their  Puritanical  yoke.  Nor  did  they  confine 
themselves  strictly  to  religious  matters ;  politics,  morals,  and 
irre2:ularities  of  all  kinds  came  under  their  dictatorial  in- 
fluences. 

Of  Cotton  Mather,  Bancroft  remarks :  "  Was  Cotton 
Mather  honestly  credulous  ?  Ever  ready  to  dupe  himself, 
he  limited  his  credulity  only  by  the  probable  credulity  of 
others.  He  changes,  or  omits  to  repeat  his  statements,  with- 
out acknowlcdo'inrr  error,  and  with  a  clear  intention  of  con- 
veying  false  impressions.  He  is  an  examj^le  of  how  far 
selfishness,  under  the  form  of  vanity  and  ambition,  can  blind 

*  See  "  Colonial  Records,"  and  Bancroft's  "  Ili^torj." 


Q 


90  CHEISTIANITY    ANT>   IT3    COiMFLICTS. 


the  higher  faculties,  stupefy  the  judgment,  and  dupe  con- 
sciousness itself.  His  self-righteousness  was  complete,  until 
he  was  resisted."  * 

Cotton  Mather  not  only  declared  that  "there  is  both  r. 
God,  and  a  devil,  and  witchcraft ;  but  that  all  who  denied 
the  fact,  were  guilty  of  ignorance,  incivility,  and  dishonest 
impudence."  As  the  Bible  makes  allusions  to  witchcraft  and 
witches  in  the  olden  time,  these  Biblical  Solons  of  Salem  and 
Boston  inferred  that  they  ought  to  exist  in  modern  times. 
There  was  the  witch  of  Endor ;  why  should  there  not  be  the 
witch  of  Salem,  or  Boston,  or  Plymouth  ?  Careful  inquiry  in 
1688  revealed  to  these  modern  prophets  an  excellent  subject, 
in  the  person  of  a  poor,  ignorant  Irishwoman  named  Glover. 
This  poor  creature  was  accused  of  having  bewitched  the 
daughter  of  one  Goodwin,  an  hysterical  girl  of  thirteen  years, 
and  finally,  after  divers  persecutions  and  a  mock  trial,  they 
put  her  to  death  by  hanging! 

One  of  the  most  infamous  and  active  agents  in  these 
witchcraft  persecutions  was  a  Puritan  minister  of  Salem,  by 
the  name  of  Samuel  Parris.  Aided  and  abetted  by  Mather, 
Stoughton,  Phipps,  and  other  sectarian  radicals,  he  insti- 
tuted proceedings  against  hundreds  of  innocent  persons  of 
his  town,  selecting  those  against  whom  he  had  some  hostility 
cr  prejudice,  and  caused  twenty  to  be  hung  for  witchcraft, 
fifty-five  to  be  "  tortured  or  terrified  into  false  confessions," 
and  hundreds  to  be  confined  in  prison.  In  nearly  all  cases 
these  sanguinary  accnsers  were  actuated  by  motives  of  per- 
sonal hatred  and  revengje  a2:ainst  those  who  were  accused. 
With  liypocritical  prayers  upon  their  lips,  and  assumptions  of 
superior  piety  and  virtue,  these  clerical  murderers  and  their 
vile  accomplices  in  persecution  and  crime  perpetrated  these 
deeds  of  wickedness  and  blood,  l^o  efibrts  were  spared  by 
tiiese  cunning  malignants  to  suborn  witnesses,  and  in  every 
way  to  manufacture  testimony  against  their  enemies,  in  order 
to  torture  them,  and,  when  possible,  to  hang  them.  Another 
beautiful  result  of  Puritan  civilization  and  Christian  charity. 

*  "History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  97. 


PURITAN   INTOLEKANCE.  391 

In  1661  an  additional  law  was  enacted  against  the  "  in- 
trusions of  blasphemous,  accursed,  heretical,  and  vagabond 
Quakers,  who,  like  rouges  and  vagabonds,  sneak  and  wander 
about  to  spread  their  absurd  and  blasphemous  doctrine  ; "  "^^ 
directing  any  magistrate  who  may  be  able  to  catch  them,  "  to 
strip  them  naked  from  the  middle  upwards,  tje  them  to  a 
carts  tayle,  and  whip  thro^  the  toune,"  f  and  so  on  from 
town  to  town  until  they  shall  have  been  scourged  out  of  the 
colony.  Should  the  Quaker  return  a  second  time  he  or  she 
is  to  be  "  severely  whipped  and  branded  with  the  letter  R  on 
the  left  shoulder,"  t  and  then  whipped  out  of  town  as  before. 
Banishment  or  death,  at  the  option  of  the  court,  were  the 
penalties  for  a  third  return  to  the  colony,  or  for  an  obstinate 
persistence  in  remaining  in  the  colony. 

It  is  difficult  to  believe  that  a  class  of  people  as  benevo- 
lent, moral,  exemplary,  and  industrious  as  the  Quakers  have 
always  been,  and  so  admira,bly  calculated  to  enhance  the 
prosperity  and  welfare  of  a  state,  could  have  been  so  wan- 
tonly and  cruelly  treated  by  men  claiming  to  be  Cliristians. 
But  the  facts  herein  enumerated,  respecting  the  treatment  of 
the  Quakers  by  the  Puritans,  are  chiefly  derived  from  tlie 
early  "  Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts  Bay,"  edited  by 
Dr.  Shurtleff,  of  Boston,  and  may  therefore  be  relied  upon  as 
authentic. 

Nor  were  the  penalties  confined  to  the  Quakers  them- 
selves. Every  man  harboring,  concealing,  or  importing  a 
Quaker,  or  who  should  have  in  his  possession,  or  read  any  of 
their  vva*itings,  was  subjected  to  heavy  fines  and  imprison- 
ment ;  and  if  the  offence  Avas  persisted  in,  to  banishment 
under  penalty  of  death.  How  sadly  were  these  excellent 
people  mistaken  in  trusting  to  the  much  vaunted  professions 
of  the  Puritans  respecting  religious  toleration  ! 

At  a  general  court  held  at  Boston,  October  14,  1657,  an 
additional  law  was  enacted  "  in  reference  to  the  comino*  or 
bringing  in  any  of  the  cursed  sect  of  Quakers  into  this  juris- 
diction, and  it  is  further  ordered,  that  whosoever  shall,  from 

*  "  Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts  Bay."        f  Ibid.        :}:  Ibid. 


392  CHEISTIANITY   AlTO   rrS   CONFLICTS. 

henceforth,  bring,  or  cause  to  be  brought,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, any  knowne  Quaker  or  Quakers,  or  other  blasphemous 
heretiks,  into  this  jurisdiction,  euery  such  person  shall  forfeite 
the  some  of  one  hundred  pounds  to  y®  countrje,  and  by  war- 
rant from  any  magistrate,  be  comitted  to  prison."  *  And 
for  harboring,  concealing,  or  entertaining  any  such  Quaker 
or  Quakers,  a  fine  of  forty  shillings  and  imprisonment  were 
the  penalties.  "And  it  is  further  ordered,  that  if  any  Qua- 
ker or  Quakers  shall  j)resume,  after  they  haue  once  suffered 
what  the  lavv'e  requireth,  to  come  into  this  jurisdiction,  euery 
such  male  Quaker  shall,  for  the  first  offenc,  haue  one  of  his 
eares  cutt  off,  and  be  kept  in  the  house  of  correction  at  worke 
till  he  cann  be  sent  away  at  his  oune  charge,  and  for  the 
second  offenc  shall  haue  his  other  eare  cutt  off,  &c.,  and  kept 
at  the  house  of  correction,  as  aforesaid  . , .  and  for  euery  Qua- 
ker, he  or  she,  that  shall  a  third  tjme  heerein  again e  offend, 
they  shall  haue  theire  toungues  bored  through  w*^  a  hot  iron, 
and  kept  at  the  house  of  correction,  close  to  worke,  till  they 
be  sent  away  at  their  oune  charge."  f  For  a  first  offence 
by  female  Quakers,  severe  whipping  and  imprisonment  were 
the  penalties. 

In  1658  another  law  was  enacted,  "that  euery  person  or 
persons  of  the  cursed  sect  of  the  Quakers,  who  is  not  an  inhab- 
itant off,  but  found  w*Hu  this  jurisdiction,"  shall  be  taken  to 
prison,  without  bail,  and,  on  conviction,  banished  upon  pain 
of  death.  Or  any  Quaker  preaching  or  teaching  his  doc- 
trines, or  "drauing  from  our  Church  assembljs,"  or  "pub- 
lishing or  defending  the  horrid  opinions  of  the  Quakers,  shall 
be  sentenced  to  banishment  vpon  pajne  of  death."  J 

If  tlie  influence  of  Catholicism  and  Puritanism  upon  the 
civilization  of  North  America  be  contrasted,  the  former  will 
lose  nothing  by  the  comparison.  In  every  thing  pertaining 
to  the  welfare  of  the  aborigines,  to  civil  liberty,  to  religious 
toleration,  and  to  the  material,  moral,  and  social  progress  of 
society,  Catholics  have  ever  been  far  in  advance  of  their  op- 
ponents. 

*  "  Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts  Bay."         f  Ibid.         X  Ibid. 


PUEITAN    INTOLEKANCE.  393 

To  a  Itomaii  Catholic,  as  we  have  already  observed,  be- 
longs the  credit  of  having  first  secured  liberty  of  conscience 
and  religious  toleration  on  the  American  continent.  Sir 
George  Calvert,  brotlier  of  Lord  Baltimore,  according  to  Bun- 
croft,  "  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the  most  wise  and  benev- 
olent lawgivei-s  of  all  ages.  He  was  the  first  in  the  history 
of  the  Christian  world  to  seek  for  religious  security  and  peace 
by  the  i:)ractice  of  justice,  and  not  by  the  exercise  of  power ;  to 
plan  the  establishment  of  popular  institutions  with  the  enjoy- 
ment of  liberty  of  conscience ;  to  advance  the  career  of  civiliza- 
tion by  recognizing  the  rightful  equality  of  all  Christian  sects. 
The  asylum  of  papists  was  the  spot  where,  in  a  remote  cor- 
ner of  the  world,  on  the  banks  of  rivers  which  as  yet  had 
hardly  been  explored,  the  mild  forbearance  of  a  proprietary 
adopted'  religious  freedom  as  the  basis  of  the  state."  * 

On  the  27th  day  of  March,  1634,  the  Catholics  under  Cal- 
vert took  quiet  possession  of  a  little  Indian  village  on  the 
banks  of  St.  Mary's  River,  and  "  religious  liberty  obtained  a 
home,  its  only  home  in  the  v/ide  vrorld.  Every  other  country 
in  the  world  had  persecuting  laws ;  but,  through  the  benign 
administration  of  the  government  of  that  i^rovince  [Mary- 
land], no  person  professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ  was 
permitted  to  be  molested  on  account  of  religion.  .  .  .  And 
there,  too,  Protestants  were  sheltered  against  Protestant  in- 
tolerance. .  .  .  The  disfranchised  friends  of  prelacy  from  Mas- 
sachusetts, and  the  Puritans  from  Virginia,  were  welcomed 
to  equal  liberty  of  conscience  and  political  rights  in  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  province  of  Maryland."  f 

How  great  was  the  contrast  between  this  religious  and 
civil  toleration  in  this  Maryland  colony  of  Lord  Baltimore, 
and  in  those  of  Massachusetts  and  Virginia,  Avliere  special  stat- 
utes had  been  enacted  to  exclude  Catholics  and  non-conform- 
ists from  all  political,  religious,  or  social  rights ! 

Li  the  treatment  of  the  savages  of  Maryland,  the  Catli- 
olics  of  Lord  Baltimore's  colony  were  always  governed  by 
the  most  exalted  principles  of  Cln-istianity  and  philanthroj^y. 

*  "  Hist,  of  the  Uuitcd  States,"  vol.  i.,  p.  244.    |  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  pp.  218-257, 
17* 


394  CnEISTlANlTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

The  territorial  and  personal  rights  of  the  natives  were  scru- 
pulously respected,  and  earnest  and  persistent  efforts  made 
to  teach  them  religious  truths,  and  the  arts  and  practices  of 
civilized  life.  Their  lands  were  not  taken  from  them  by  force, 
or  without  their  consent,  but  by  honorable  negotiation  and 
purchase.  Instead  of  offering  bounties  for  their  scalps,  the 
Catholics  offered  them  words  and  acts  of  love  and  mercy. 
This  condition  of  affairs  continued  uninterruptedly  until 
1654,  when  Clayborne  and  his  Puritan  followers  wrested  by 
force  the  government  of  Maryland  from  the  hands  of  Stone, 
the  agent  and  representative  of  Lord  Baltimore.  After 
disfranchising  all  the  Catholics  of  the  colony,  these  men 
passed  an  act  "  concerning  religion,  confirming  freedom  of 
consciencQ,  provided  the  liberty  were  not  extended  to  popery, 
prelacy,  or  licentiousness  of  opinion."  Many  of  these  acts  of 
intolerance  were  perpetrated  during  the  dictatorship  of 
Cromwell ;  and,  although  fully  aware  of  them,  he  never  took 
any  measures  to  correct  them. 

'Nor  were  the  Purit^ins  the  only  persecutors  of  the  Mary- 
land Catholics  ;  for  when,  in  1702,  episcopacy  was  established 
by  the  colonial  legislature  of  Maryland,  tolerance  was  grant- 
ed to  all  sects  except  the  Catholic.  Says  Bancroft :  "  The  Ro- 
man Catholics  alone  were  left  without  an  ally,  exposed  to 
English  bigotry  and  colonial  injustice.  They  alone  were 
disfranchised  on  the  soil  which,  long  before  Locke  pleaded  for 
toleration,  or  Penn  for  religious  freedom,  they  had  chosen, 
not  as  their  own  asylum  only,  but,  Avith  Catholic  liberality, 
as  the  asylum  of  every  persecuted  sect.  In  the  land  which 
Catholics  had  oj^ened  to  Protestants,  the  Catholic  inhabitant 
was  the  sole  victim  to  Anglican  intolerance.  Mass  might 
not  be  said  publicly.  No  Catholic  priest  or  bishop  might 
utter  his  faith  in  a  voice  of  persuasion.  No  Catholic  might 
teach  the  young.  If  the  Avayward  child  of  a  papist  would 
but  become  an  apostate,  the  law  wrested  for  him  from  his 
parents  a  share  of  their  property.  The  disfranchisement  of 
the  proprietary  related  to  his  creed,  not  to  his  family.  Sucli 
were  the  methods  adopted  to  prevent  the  growth  of  popery ; 


rURITAN   INTOLEKANCE.  395 

but  the  persecution  uevcr  crushed  tlic  faith  of  the  humble 
colonists."  * 

This  Puritan  policy  toward  the  Catholics  of  Maryland 
was  only  a  continuation  of  that  which  was  being  pursued  by 
the  English  toAvard  the  Catholics  of  Ireland.  The  govern- 
ment and  people  of  England  had  been  schooled  in  the  practices 
of  intolerance  and  oppression  against  their  subjugated  Irish 
dependency  for  hundreds  of  years. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  thirteenth  century,  when  Henry 
II.  was  king  of  England,  Ireland  was  attacked  and  subjugat- 
ed by  bands  of  English  adventurers  under  a  number  of  impov- 
erished and  ambitious  barons.  The  object  of  these  men  was 
plunder  and  the  acquisition  of  lands.  Notwithstanding  the 
invaders  were  Catholics,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  strip  their 
Celtic  brethren  of  nearly  all  their  acres,  and  to  divide  them 
among  a  few  English  families.  The  native  inhabitants 
were  deprived  of  nearly  every  civil,  military,  and  social  priv- 
ilege enjoyed  by  their  insolent  rulers;  and  this  condition  of 
affairs  continued  until  the  Reformation,  when  all  the  Prot- 
estant elements  of  the  kingdom  were  brought  into  requisition 
aocainst  the  down-trodden  Irish  Catholics.  On  the  accession 
of  Elizabeth  to  the  English  throne,  she  established  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  Church  in  Ireland,  and  rigidly  excluded 
the  Catholic  population  from  all  political  and  religious  rights. 
English  influence  now  reigned  supreme,  and  the  people  were 
plundered  and  outraged  without  mercy  and  with  perfect 
impunity.  No  amelioration  resulted  from  the  accession  of 
James  I. ;  but  repeated  violations  of  faith  and  atrocious 
persecutions  of  all  kinds  finally  drove  the  Celts  and  the 
Norman-Irish,  who  had  now  fraternized  with  them  for  mutual 
protection,  to  arms  in  1641.  Arrayed  against  them  were  the 
king,  the  Puritan  Parliament,  the  Scotch  Presbyterians,  and 
the  bigoted  and  ferocious  Oliver  Cromwell.  Unable  to  cope 
successfully  with  these  powerful  enemies,  they  struggled  on 
amidst  every  conceivable  outrage  and  suffering  until  1660, 
v\dicn  all  power  of  resistance  ceased. 

*  Bancroft's  "  History  of  tho  United  States,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  32. 


396  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Under  Charles  II.  and  James  11. ,  no  material  relief  was 
experienced;  for  the  native  Irish  were  still  regarded  and 
treated  as  aliens  and  enemies. 

After  the  revolution  of  1688,  the  condition  of  the  Irish 
Catholics  was  hopeless  in  the  extreme.  Subjugated  by  a 
people  who  liated  them  with  fanatical  ferocity,  and  power- 
less to  offer  resistance,  their  rights  and  privileges  were  every- 
where trampled  upon. 

A  reference  to  the  penal  codes  enacted  by  William  and 
Anne  for  the  "  prevention  of  the  growth  of  popery,"  will  en- 
able the  reader  to  form  some  idea  of  the  spirit  of  the  Eng- 
lish Protestants  toward  their  Catholic  subjects. 

In  1763  no  Catholic  could  marry  a  Protestant,  no  Catho- 
lic could  vote,  hold  office,  possess  lands,  teach  or  be  taught, 
at  home  or  abroad,  j)reach  or  practise  his  religion,  own  or 
keep  arms  or  weapons  of  any  kind,  or  exercise  paternal  au- 
thority in  Ireland,  under  penalty  of  imprisonment,  trans- 
portation, and  death  by  hanging,  drawing,  and  quartering. 
All  priests,  monks,  and  teachers  were  registered,  and  retained 
within  limited  districts  like  prisoners.  They  were  forbidden 
to  teach,  preach,  or  to  exercise  their  holy  offices  in  any  man- 
ner, under  penalty  of  outlawry  or  death. 

Under  such  a  weight  of  tyranny  and  persecution,  is  it 
strange  that  the  priesthood  of  Ireland  should  have  been 
lacking  in  literary  culture,  or  that  the  emigrants  who  have 
come  to  this  country  have  been,  for  the  most  part,  ignorant  ? 

Six-sevenths  of  all  the  lands  of  Ireland  had  been  confis- 
cated and  divided  among  the  radical  Protestants  of  England, 
and  every  Catholic  was  disfranchised,  prohibited  from  owning 
lands,  or  procuring  leases  for  over  thirty-one  years ;  and  then 
all  profits  over  one-third  the  amount  of  the  rent  were  to  be 
delivered  up  to  his  landlord  or  some  government  agent. 
Bribes  and  ^preferments  were  offered  to  those  who  would  be- 
come recreant  to  their  religion  and  their  friends ;  but  every 
man,  however  poor  or  ignorant,  remained  true  to  his  princi- 
ples, preferring  to  suffer  all  the  pangs  of  poverty,  injustice,  and 
cruel  persecution,  rather  than  to  peril  the  welfare  of  his  soul. 


PUKITAN   mTOLERANCE.  397 

The  history  of  the  world  does  not  present  a  higher  degree 
of  Christian  forbearance  and  moral  elevation  than  was  pre- 
sented by  the  Irish  Catholics  during  their  days  of  crashing 
oppression  and  wrong  after  tlie  Reformation. 

To  judge  fairly  between  tlie  conduct  of  different  nations 
or  sects,  it  is  necessary  to  take  into  account  the  precise  period 
of  the  Christian  era,  the  intelligence  of  the  people  interested, 
the  race  of  men,  and  the  influence  of  existing  circumstances. 
Since  the  Reformation,  we  may  justly  compare  the  treatment 
of  England  and  her  American  colonies  toward  the  Catholics 
of  Ireland,  and  the  non-conformists  of  New  England,  Mary- 
laud,  and  Virginia,  with  the  course  pursued  by  the  Catholic 
colony  of  Lord  Baltimore  toward  those  who  came  among 
them  as  residents.  Tlie  spirit  of  the  former  was  intoler- 
ance, hatred,  and  persecution ;  of  the  latter,  entire  freedom 
of  conscience,  equal  rights,  and  cordial  fraternity. 

If  it  be  urged  that  the  Church  of  Rome,  during  the  mid- 
dle ages,  likewise  exercised  a  general  system  of  religions 
intolerance,  and  not  unfrequently  enforced  her  vievfs  by  acts 
of  persecution  and  cruelty  against  her  opponents,  let  it  be 
remembered  that  the  people,  the  circumstances,  anl^  tlie  in- 
telligence of  these  dark  ages  were  entirely  different  from 
those  which  have  existed  since  the  Reformation.  The  con- 
verts to  Christianity  during  the  early  and  middle  centuries 
were  from  paganism  and  idolatry.  The  converted  Christians 
of  these  epochs  were  ignorant,  semi-barbarous,  material. 
Their  hereditary  traits  were  selfishness  and  love  of  pleasure ; 
and  an  element  of  their  moral  code  had  been  "  an  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  Under  such  circumstances,  it 
is  not  strange  that  these  converted  pagans  should  now  and 
then  have  forgotten  the  beneficent  doctrines  of  tlie  Church, 
and  have  lapsed  into  their  original  habits  of  intolerance  and 
persecution.  Born  and  reared  in  the  midst  of  such  a  dark 
period,  it  is  unreasonable  to  expect  in  them,  as  converts  to 
Christianity,  that  strict  adhesion  to  the  precepts  and  prac- 
tices of  religion  which  might  justly  be  demanded  of  modern 
Christendom.     During  the  past  three  centuries,  the  sum  of 


398  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

human  knowledge  and  intelligence  lias  been  vastly  greater 
than  during  the  middle  ages,  when  all  Europe  was  so  often 
convulsed  and  demoralized  by  barbarian  irruptions  and  bar- 
barian conquests.  The  enormous  advances  in  art,  science, 
philosophy,  and  literature  have  created  an  entire  revolution 
in  luiman  thought,  sentiment,  and  conduct.  The  clear  light 
of  a  strictly  Christian  epoch,  and  a  high  state  of  intellectual 
development,  have  rendered  the  course  of  the  modern  Chris- 
tian luminous  and  certain.  The  Christian  converts  of  the 
middle  ages  were  hedged  about  by  hereditary  prejudices 
and  customs,  false  philosophies,  and  the  baneful  influences  of 
barbarian  conquerors  and  oj^pressors — suspended  midway 
between  Christian  civilization  and  barbarism ;  and  if  they 
were  not  uniformly  perfect  models  of  Christianity,  but  some- 
times intolerant,  superstitious,  and  cruel,  let  us  remember  the 
darkness,  the  doubts,  and  the  materialism  of  the  ages  in 
which  they  lived,  and  cast  over  them  the  mantle  of  Christian 
charity.  Let  us  be  just,  and  judge  of  nations  with  reference 
to  the  knov/lcdge  possessed,  and  the  eras  in  which  they  have 
existed.  Let  us  not  require  of  the  pagan  convert  that  de- 
gree of  excellence,  or  that  j^crsistency  in  religious  faith  and 
practice  which  is  demanded  of  the  more  modern  Christian 
believer. 

North  America  was  colonized  by  men  of  the  same  race, 
the  same  habits,  the  same  mental  and  physical  qualities,  and 
at  the  same  epoch.  A  portion  of  these  colonizers  were  Prot- 
estant, and  a  portion  Catholic.  Subjects  of  the  same  gov- 
ernment, surrounded  by  similar  conditions,  and  with  a  full 
scope  for  the  development  of  their  several  modes  of  civiliza- 
tion, a  fair  comparison  may  here  be  instituted  between  them, 
and  a  just  judgment  rendered.  No  Catholic  need  blush  in 
arraying  the  colonial  records  of  Lord  Baltimore's  colony  in 
Maryland  against  those  of  Massachusetts  or  Virginia. 


CIIAPTEE  XXIX. 

MISSIONS    IN    AMERICA. 

Another  test  of  the  comparative  influence  of  Protestant 
and  Catliolic  civilization  in  N'orth  America  may  be  found 
in  the  results  of  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  several 
parties. 

As  early  as  1611  Catholic  missionaries  Avere  in  communi- 
cation with  many  of  the  wild  tribes  of  the  North  and  West. 
Under  Fathers  De  Briencourt  and  Biart,  they  explored  the 
coast  as  far  as  the  Kennebec,  and  ascended  that  river.  They 
visited  the  Algonquins,  the  Abenakis,  the  Canibas,  and  other 
tribes  between  the  Penobscot  and  the  Kennebec.  Tlicir 
kindness  and  disinterested  benevolence  won  the  confidence 
and  respectful  attention  of  these  Indians,  and  induced  them 
to  listen  with  interest  and  profit  to  the  doctrines  of  Cliris- 
tianit3% 

Catholic  priests  were  among  the  earliest  and  most  suc- 
cessful pioneers  and  discoverers  in  the  northern  and  w^estern 
parts  of  the  continent.  The  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  Piver, 
its  course,  and  its  outlet  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  due  to 
the  suggestions  and  actual  j^ersonal  efibrts  of  Father  Mar- 
quette and  his  euterprising  companion,  Joliet.  Many  otlicr 
rivers  and  new  territories  were  discovered  by  these  men  dur- 
ing their  daring  voyages  as  missionaries. 

In  1G33  there  were  about  twenty  Jesuit  priests  in  Cana- 
da ;  and  their  labors  and  discoveries  as  pioneers  and  found- 
ers of  towns  were  of  incalculable  importance  to  the  early 


400  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

coloDizers.  Their  influence  over  the  wild  tribes  of  the  wil- 
derness was  likewise  beneficial  in  the  highest  degree.  As 
Bancroft  truly  observes,  "  The  history  of  their  labors  is  con- 
nected with  the  origin  of  every  celebrated  town  in  the  annals 
of  French  America :  not  a  cape  was  turned,  nor  a  river  en- 
tered, but  a  Jesuit  led  the  way." 

The  trials  and  hardships  of  Fathers  Brebeuf,  Daniel,  and 
Lallemand,  who  visited  the  Hurons  in  1633,  the  rude  chapels 
which  they  erected  in  the  midst  of  their  wilderness  home, 
and  the  unwearied  assiduity  with  which  they  struggled  to 
convert  their  wild  friends  to  Christianity,  are  noted  with  ad- 
miration by  many  historians  of  this  period.  Within  twelve 
years  from  the  time  Brebeuf  and  his  companions  first  entered 
Canada,  more  than  fifty  Catholic  missionaries  had  followed 
them  to  the  haunts  of  the  savages,  risking  every  thing  in 
their  noble  cause.  ISTearly  all  of  these  men  were  martyred  ; 
but  they  had  deliberately  ofiered  themselves  as  Avilling  sacri- 
fices in  the  great  work,  as  humble  soldiers  of  the  cross,  with- 
out a  hope  of  reward  on  earth,  guided  by  the  everlasting 
light  of  heaven,  and  sustained  by  the  consoling  influences  of 
their  religion. 

Many  of  these  early  missionaries  attached  themselves  to 
migratory  tribes,  adopting  many  of  their  habits,  their  mode 
of  life,  acquiescing  in  their  simple  and  primitive  customs  and 
sports  when  not  contrary  to  religion,  sympathizing  with 
them  in  their  griefs,  and  rejoicing  with  them  in  their  joys, 
sharing  their  privations  and  hardships,  and  wandering  Avith 
them  from  place  to  place.  Such  disinterestedness  commend- 
ed itself  to  the  Indian,  and  roused  his  admiration  and  grati- 
tude. He  saw  these  devoted  men  come  to  them  without 
arms,  without  guile,  covethig  nothing,  and  intent  only  on 
showing  them  divine  truths,  and  doing  them  good.  Occa- 
sionally they  were  attacked  by  hostile  savages,  and  put  to 
death  ;  but  their  places  were  immediately  filled  by  others. 
Such  were  the  fates  of  Fathers  Jogues,  Goupil,  Daniel,  Bre- 
beuf, Lallemand,  Gareau,  Mesnarcl,  and  others  who  preferred 
the  ci'own  of  martyrdom  to  earthly  comfort  and  glory. 


MISSIONS   IN   AMERICA.  401 

The  Puritan  missionaries  aiiproachecT  tlie  aborigines  with 
sermons,  Puritanical  statutes,  rum,  and  bullets.  'I'hey  may 
be  regarded  as  missionary  footpads,  who  were  in  the  habit 
of  waylaying  the  savage  with  both  spiritual  and  physical 
arms,  and  demanclino;  his  conversion  or  his  life.  When  heav- 
enly  weapons  were  not  promptly  successful,  mundane  ones 
were  brought  into  requisition  ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that 
in  nearly  every  instance  the  latter  were  the  weapons  which 
brought  the  poor  Indian  down. 

It  has  ahvays  been  customary  for  the  Catholic  missionary 
to  respect  the  innocent  and  harmless  prejudices,  superstitions, 
and  customs  of  the  savages,  and  to  adapt  himself  as  far  as 
possible  to  their  peculiarities  and  mode  of  life.  In  this  man- 
ner they  were  gradually  enabled  to  indoctrinate  tlicm  with 
the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  But  the 
Puritan  missionary  saw  nothing  good,  nothing  permissible, 
.outside  the  five  points  of  Calvin,  and  the  discipline  of  the 
Calvinistic  churches  of  Boston,  Plymouth,  and  Salem.  They 
recognized  no  other  mode  of  converting  their  wild  neighbors 
than  military  coercion.  Can  it  be  wondered  at  that  the  mis- 
sionary efibrts  of  the  Puritans  of  New  England  should  have 
been  unsuccessful,  and  that  the  native  tribes  were  almost 
continually  at  war  with  the  wdntes,  until  they  were  finally 
exterminated  ?  When  we  contemplate  the  intolerance  and 
cruelty  of  these  early  colonizers  toward  every  human  being 
who  was  not  within  the  pale  of  Calvinistic  theology  and  dis- 
cipline, we  may  understand  why  Quakers,  Baptists,  and  re- 
puted witches,  were  persecuted,  tortured,  and  i^ut  to  death, 
and  why  the  poor  Indian  was  robbed  of  his  possessions,  his 
nationality,  and  eventually  of  his  very  life's  blood ;  and  Ave 
may  understand  why  the  public  sentiment  of  Massacluisetts, 
during  the  first  century  of  her  colonial  existence,  was  forced 
to  succumb  to  the  private  malignancy  and  vengeance  of  the 
Mathers,  the  Skeltons,  the  Parrises,  and  the  Iligginsons  of 
that  period ;  and  why  the  infiuences  of  Puritanism  tended 
toward  pngan  rather  than  Christian  civilization  and  ad- 
vancement. 


402  CIIFwISTlANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Within  the  first  century  after  the  Catholic  missionaries 
commenced  their  labors  in  South  America,  more  than  1,500,- 
000  Indians  were  converted  from  idolatry  and  demon-wor- 
ship to  Catholicism,  and  to  a  knowledge  and  practice  of 
many  of  the  arts  of  civilization. 

In  Australia,  under  the  influence  of  Protestant  civiliza- 
tion and  Protestant  missionary  enterprise,  the  natives  have 
been  nearly  exterminated.  "  Another  ten  years,"  says  Mr. 
Byrne,  "  and  an  aboriginal  native  will  be  as  great  a  curiosity 
in  Sydney,  or  within  the  boundaries  of  the  colony,  as  he  is  at 
present  in  Europe."  The  same  thing  is  true  of  Yan  Diemen's 
Land,  the  new  colony  of  Victoria,  and  of  IsTew  Zealand. 
According  to  an  ofiicial  document  published  at  Auckland  in 
1859,  by  order  of  the  colonial  government,  the  native  popu- 
lation of  ISTew  Zealand  had  become  reduced  to  56,409,  seven- 
eighths  having  disappeared.  The  opinion  is  almost  universal 
that  the  entire  race  will  be  exterminated  in  two  or  three 
generations  more,  as  have  been  nearly  all  the  aboriginal  na- 
tives of  the  United  States  under  similar  influences.. 

Marshall,  in  his  "  Christian  Missions,"  thus  alludes  to  the 
pernicious  effects  of  sectarian  missions  in  Kew  Zealand : 
"  The  war  of  sects,  the  license  of  crude  and  shifting  opinion, 
the  strife  of  texts,  and  endless  discord  of  opposing  creeds — 
it  was  necessary  that  ISTew  Zealand  should  joossess  them  all. 
Fatal  gift !  against  which  even  pagans  would  have  lifted  up 
the  cry  of  fear  and  supplication  if  they  had  known  Avhat 
it  would  bring  in  its  train.  But  this  is  the  final  chastise- 
ment which  ages  of  impenitence  have  brought  upon  the  hea- 
then world  in  these  last  days,  and  which  not  even  apostles — 
though  they  were  as  wise  as  St.  Paul,  as  mighty  as  St.  Greg- 
ory Thauraaturgus,  or  as  fervent  as  St.  Francis  Xavier — 
could  now  avert  from  them.  Protestantism  is  the  last 
scourge  of  heathenism."  "  The  spirit  of  controversy,"  says 
Dr.  Selwyn,  "  is  everywhere  found  to  prevail,  in  many  cases 
to  the  entire  exclusion  of  all  simplicity  of  faith."  And  in  1850 
Mr.  Bonner  writes :  "  Though  in  some  places  there  are  only 
six  or  seven  natives,  yet  they  have  separate  places  of  worshi]) 


MISSIONS    IN    A3IEEICA.  403 

— Church  of  England,  and  Weslcyan— and  are  always  quar- 
relling about  religion."  And  the  Rev.  Elijah  Iloole  says, 
"that  contention,  animosity,  distrust,  and  intolerance  are 
hut  the  mere  outlines  of  that  state  of  feeling  which  at  pres- 
ent exists  among  our  divided  people.  The  spirit  of  Christi- 
anity is  lost'in  the  form,  and  the  very  form  itself  has  become 
the  subject  of  incessant  and  angry  dispute."* 

According  to  the  most  reliable  Protestant  authorities,  like 
Dr.  Thompson,  Mr.  Wakefield,  Mr.  Paul,  Mr.  Brown,  Rev. 
Mr.  Turton,  and  other  gentlemen  of  the  highest  character 
and  positions,  these  schismatic  differences  have  separated 
thousands  of  natives  into  hostile  sects,  who  make  war  upon 
each  other  with  more  virulence  and  ferocity  than  when  they 
fought  each  other  in  their  primitive  heathenism. 

"  In  1856,"  says  Thomas  Ewbank,  an  American  Protestant, 
"  there  were  ei2:ht  hundred  thousand  domesticated  Indian 
converts  to  Catholicism  in  Brazil.  In  New  Granada,  a  single 
Catholic  missionary.  Father  Claver,  who  died  in  1654,  con- 
verted and  baptized  four  hundred  thousand  native  pagans 
and  imported  slaves.  In  Paraguay,  and  other  neighboring 
South  American  countries,  more  than  one  million  of  converts 
were  made  to  the  Church  before  the  commencement  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  In  Oceanica,  and  in  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  where  Catholicism  is  in  the  ascendant  the  masses  of 
the  natives  have  been  converted  and  partially  civilized." 

If  we  extend  our  inquiries  into  all  parts  of  the  American 
continent,  and  examine  critically  the  past  and  j^reseut  fruits 
of  all  Protestant  missionary  enterprises,  we  shall  invariably 
find  one  or  more  of  the  following  results  :  1.  A  continual  and 
rapid  decrease  of  population.  2.  A  general  corruption  of 
morals  and  habits.  3.  A  substitution  of  the  vices  and  the 
diseases  of  civilization  for  those  of  heathenism.  A  simple 
reference  to  the  early  missions  of  Ncav  England  and  Canada, 
and  the  more  recent  missions  and  present  condition  of  the 
western  portions  of  the  United  States,  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  Van  Dieraen's  Land,  and 

*  Marshall's  "  Christian  Missions,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  144. 


404  CHEISTIANITY.  AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

other  Protestant  fields  of  labor,  will  render  these  facts 
apparent. 

Among  all  the  native  races  of  this  continent,  it  is  doubt- 
ftd  whether  Protestantism  can  claim  twenty  thousand  con- 
verts !  The  great  field  of  missionary  labor  on  this  continent 
has  always  been  equally  open  to  Protestants  and  Catholics. 
The  gospel  of  both  demanded  that  its  doctrines  should  be 
preached  to  all  nations.  Who  have  best  fulfilled  the  com- 
mandment? A  tabular  statement  of  the  results  of  the 
Protestant  missions  in  America  would  reveal  such  an  insig- 
nificant number  of  converts,  when  compared  with  those  of  the 
Catholics,  that  we  refrain  from  making  the  sad  exhibition. 
Instead  of  instituting  a  comparison,  as  might  readily  be  done, 
Ave  shall  content  ourselves  with  submitting  the  glorious 
results  of  Catholic  missions  among  the  heathen  nations  of 
America,  and  leave  the  intelligent  reader  to  decide  as  to  who 
are  the  actual  Christian  civilizers.  To  those  who  desire  to 
enter  into  more  minute  details  respecting  the  labors  of 
Catholic  missionaries,  we  refer  them  to  the  missions  of  Fathers 
Louis  Cancer,  Diego  de  Peiialosa,  Gregory  de  Beteta,  and 
Andrew  de  Olmas,  in  Florida  and  Texas  (1544)  ;  Mark  of 
Nice,  Sarria,  and  Fortuni,  in  California  (1539-1838)  ;  John 
de  Padilla,  and  John  of  the  Cross,  in  New  Mexico  (1539)  ; 
Allouez,  Marquette,  Kibourde,  Gravier,  Rale,  Du  Poisson, 
and  Soual,  in  the  Southern  and  Western  States,  in  (1669) ;  the 
splendid  results  of  the  labors  of  De  Smet,  in  Oregon  and  other 
Western  States,  since  1831.  Also  to  Marshall's  Christian 
missions  ;  Shea's,  Strickland's,  and  other  histories  of  missions. 

The  followino;  statistical  tables  will  enable  the  reader  to 
form  some  idea  of  the  enormous  labors  of  Catholic  mission- 
aries in  America,  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  of 
thpir  wonderful  results : 

1.   Native   Converts  in  America. 

Mexico 6,000,000 

Paraguay 1,200,000 

New  Granada 2,000,000 


MISSIONS    IN   AMERICA.  405 

Venezuela 1,200,000 

Brazil 4,500,000 

Guatemala 800,000 

San  Salvador   500,000 

Honduras 250,000 

Nicaragua 350,000 

Ecuador , . . .  1,200,000 

Bolivia 1,500,000 

Peru 1,200,000 

Chili 1 ,500,000 

Other  portions  of  South  America 1,000,000 

Total 23,200,000 

Tlie  entire  Catholic  population  of  America  amounts  to 
40,970,000.  Of  this  number  more  than  one-half  were  origin- 
ally idolatrous  natives  who  have  been  converted  by  Catholic 
missionaries ;  for  this  tabulated,  estimate  does  not  include  the 
native  conversions  in  the  United  States  or  in  the  British  pos- 
sessions. 

We  earnestly  entreat  Protestants  to  contemplate  seriously 
these  wonderful  results,  these  great  practical  facts  of  Christi- 
anity, and*  then  ask  themselves  if  tliese  things  are  not  the 
work  of  God,  and.  if  the  missionary  enterprises  of  the  sects 
are  not  the  works  of  men.  And  let  it  be  understood  that  the 
labors  of  the  Catholics  have  been  equally  successful  in  the 
other  heathen  lands  of  the  earth.  In  all  parts  of  Asia  and 
Africa  her  missionaries  have  been  as  devoted  and  as  success- 
ful as  in  America.  We  take  the  liberty  of  digressing  for  a 
moment,  in  order  to  present  the  following  statistics : 

2.    Catholic  Popidation  of  Asia  and  Oceanica. 

Asiatic  Turkey 000,000 

Moldavia  and  Wallachia 130,000 

Asiatic  Russia 100,000 

British  India   1,100,000 

Netherland  India 25,000 


406  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

French  India 1 70,000 

Portuguese  India,  Islands,  and  Macao ....  546,000 

Spanish  India  and  Philippine  Islands. . . .  4,750,000 

Persia 120,000 

Anam 600,000 

Siam 25,000 

China 1,000,000 

New  Holland 300,000 

Tasmania 40,000 

E'ew  Zealand 60,000 

New  Caledonia  and  adjoining  Islands 70,000 

Sandwich  Islands 30,000 


Total 0,666,000 


Of  this  number,  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  not  less 
than  5,000,000  of  native  converts  who  have  been  brought 
into  the  Christian  fold  by  Catholic  missionaries. 

3.   Catholic  JPojyulation  of  Africa. 

Egypt 172,000 

Abyssinia 2,000,000 

Tripoli,  Tunis,  and  Morocco 30,000 

Spanish  possessions 25,000 

Canaries 260,000 

Portuguese  possessions 690,000 

Madeira  and  Islands 260,000 

Continental  French  possessions 250,000 

Peunion  and  other  Islands 180,000 

Continental  British  possessions 30,000 

Mauritius  and  other  Islands 150,000    • 

Liberia 4,000 

Madagascar 10,000 

Gallas 10,000 


'r 


Total 4,071,000 


MISSIONS    i:^    AMERICA.  407 

If  we  fix  the  number  of  native  converts  at  3,000,000,  we 
sliall  probably  be  under  the  actual  estimate. 

These  statistics  are  derived  chiefly  from  the  "  Civilta 
Cattolica  "  and  Marshall's  "  Christian  Missions."  In  order 
that  our  estimate  of  the  number  of  converts  from  heathenism 
should  not  be  overstated,  we  have  doubtless  erred  on  the 
other  side.  As  to  several  of  the  South  American  countries, 
our  data  arc  accurate;  while  we  have  been  obliged  to  ap- 
proximate, as  nearly  as  we  are  able,  as  to  the  relative  propor- 
tions in  other  countries.     Our  figures  stand  thus : 

Entire  Catholic  Population. 

America 46,970,000 

Asia  and  Oceanica 9,GGG,000 

Africa 4,071,000 

Total  Catholic  population  in  Amer- 
ica, Asia,  and  Africa 00,707,000 

Converts  frotn  Heathenism. 

America 23,200,000 

Asia  and  Oceanica 5,000,000 

Africa 3,000,000 

Total   number  of  converts   from 

idolatry 31,200,000 

Nearly  all  these  converts  have  been  made  within  the 
past  three  hundred  years — since  the  Reformation — since 
humanity  has  been  primitively  Christianized,  civilized, 
enfranchised,  and  redeemed  from  popery  by  Puritanism  ! 

What  accessions  has  Protestantism  made  to  Christianity 
from  the  benighted  nations  of  Asia  and  Africa  ?  According 
to  their  own  most  authentic  sources,  the  results  of  their  exten- 
sive missionary  organizations,  and  their  vast  expenditures, 
liave  been  utterly  insignificant.     We  do  not  believe  that  tliey 


408  CHKISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

can  justly  claim  fifty  thousand  real  heathen  converts  in  all 
the  world.  No  candid  man  can  regard  this  small  number  by 
the  side  of  the  tJiirty-oyie  millions  of  Catholic  converts  with- 
out a  conviction  that  the  special  blessings  of  Providence  are 
with  the  Catholics. 


CIIAPTEE  XXX. 

HUMAN    SLAVERY    IX    NEW    ENGLAND. 

AccoEDrN"G  to  the  "  Colonial  Records  of  Massachusetts," 
"  two  members  of  the  Church  of  Boston,"  James  Smith  and 
Thomas  Keyser,  first  imported  negro  slaves  into  New  Eng- 
land in  1637.  These  men  brought  these  slaves  from  Provi- 
dence Isle  in  tlie  Salem  ship  "  Desire  ; "  so  that  we  may  trace 
the  origin  of  negro  slavery  in  IsTew  England  to  members  of 
a  Puritan  church  of  Boston. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  not  less  than  four  millions  of 
slaves  have  been  taken  from  Africa  by  the  Protestants  of 
Eng^land  and  her' colonics  since  the  commencement  of  the  so- 
called  Reformation.  Between  the  years  1700  and  1750,  Ban- 
croft supposes  that  a  million  and  a  half  of  slaves  were  im- 
ported from  Africa,  by  English  and  American  Protestants, 
in  English  and  colonial  ships,  fitted  out  in  English  or  colo- 
nial" ports,  with  the  consent  of  rulers.  Parliaments,  and  peo- 
ple.    Of  this  number,  one-eighth  died  during  the  passage. 

"When  the  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century  commenced 
their  agitations,  human  slavery  had  been  abolished  by  the 
persistent  efforts  of  the  Catholic  Church  throughout  Conti- 
nental Europe.  But  it  was  revived  by  the  sectaries  of  Eng- 
land and  America  under  circumstances  of  appalling  cruelty, 
and  for  many  generations  it  was  sustained  and  encouraged 
by  legal  enactments. 
18 


410  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

The  efforts  of  the  Catholic  priesthood  commenced  in  the 
days  of  Jesus  and  the  apostles,  and  continued  steadfastly 
through  centuries,  until  eventually  all  the  slaves  of  Conti- 
nental Europe  were  emancipated,  and  almost  imperceptibly 
incorporated  into  the  great  public  body.  This  beneficent 
work  was  eftected  by  a  process  of  gradual  emancipation 
which  slowdy  elevated  tlie  slave  in  the  scale  of  humanity,  and 
prepared  him  for  his  changed  condition.  An  abrupt  enfran- 
chisement would  have  resulted  in  the  demoralization  and 
destruction  of  the  liberated  race.  During  the  past  three  cen- 
turies, while  Puritanism  has  often  been  the  advocate  and  de- 
fender of  human  bondage  and  of  the  slave-trade,  and  been 
the  means  of  reducing  to  perpetual  servitude  many  millions 
of  men,  the  Chui'ch  of  Rome  has  uniformly  and  earnestly  op- 
posed human  bondage  and  slave-traffic,  and  endeavored  to 
elevate  and  Christianize  the  bondmen  of  all  nations,  and  in- 
struct them  in  their  duties  and  responsibilities  toward  God 
and  man. 

For  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  first 
settlement  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  Puritans  of  America 
were  in  no  respect  in  advance  of  the  slaveholders  of  the 
golden  age.  These  New  England  men  abolished  slavery 
when  it  ceased  to  be  profitable,  and  not  until  then;  thus 
squaring  their  philanthropy  with  pounds,  shillings,  and 
pence.  Their  rule  has  always  been,  principles,  when  they 
cost  nothing,  and  subserve  their  own  opinions  and  prejudi- 
ces ;  but  when  principles  and  pockets  are  in  opposite  scales, 
the  latter  have  generally  preponderated. 

"  The  slave-trade  between  Africa  and  America,"  says 
Bancroft,  "  was  never  sanctioned  by  the  See  of  Rome.  The 
spirit  of  the  Roman  Church  was  against  it.  .  .  .  Leo  X.  de- 
clared that  not  the  Christian  religion  only,  but  Nature  her- 
self, cries  out  against  the  state  of  slavery.  And  Paul  III.,  in 
two  separate  briefs,  inprecated  a  curse  on  the  Europeans  who 
should  enslave  Indians,  or  any  other  class  of  men.  It  even 
became  usual  for  Spanish  vessels,  when  they  sailed  on  a  voy- 
age of  discovery,  to  be  attended  by  a  priest,  whose  benevo- 


HUMAN   SLAVERY   IN   NEW   ENGLAND.  411 

lent   duty  it  was  to  preA'ent  the  kidnaj^ping  of  the  abori- 
gmes."  * 

How  wide  the  contrast  between  these  humane  sentiments 
of  Pope  Leo,  and  his  Catholic  children,  and  those  of  the  early 
Puritans  Avho  enslaved  the  remnant  of  the  Pequod  tribe  of 
Indians  which  had  survived  the  caraage  of  Mason  and  his 
Puritan  soldiers !  The  only  son  of  King  Philip,  whose  father 
had  fed,  sheltered,  and  defended  the  first  colonists  in  their 
time  of  need,  Tvas  kidnapped,  sent  to  Bermuda  in  1676,  and 
sold  as  a  slave.  These  are  but  a  few  of  the  instances  which 
might  be  cited  to  illustrate  the  influence  of  Puritan  civiliza- 
tion npon  human  slavery,  and  to  mark  the  contrast  l)etween 
the  efforts  of  Catholic  and  Protestant  Christianity  in  this  di- 
rection. Let  us  ao-ain  revert  for  a  moment  to  the  influence 
of  Catholic  civilization  in  Mexico  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  compare  it  with  that  of  Puritan  civilization  in  North 
America  at  the  same  period.  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  of 
Spain  accepted  the  dominion  of  Mexico  with  the  humane  in- 
tention and  solemn  promise  to  the  Bishoj)  of  Rome  that  they 
would  hold  this  barbarous  nation  in  trust  for  the  purjDOse 
of  Christianizing  and  civilizing  its  inhabitants.  They  dis- 
claimed all  mercenary  views,  or  any  expectation  of  territorial 
aggrandizement  in  their  acquisition.  That  these  benevolent 
intentions  might  be  fulfilled,  priests  accompanied  every  ex- 
pedition to  Mexico,  and  always  exercised  their  influence  to 
restrain  the  adventurous  soldiers  of  Spain  from  committing 
abuses  upon  the  natives.  From  the  first,  slaver^^  was  sternly 
denounced  by  the  Church  and  her  agents ;  and  although  ava- 
ricious laymen  have  not  unfrequently  violated  these  humane 
injunctions,  the  efforts  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  directed  and 
controlled  by  the  indomitable  energy  and  the  boundless  be- 
nevolence of  the  glorious  Las  Casas,  speedily  effected  the  total 
abolition  of  Indian  slavery  throughout  Mexico.  That  this  pol- 
icy was  sanctioned  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  is  evident  from 
the  following  fiict :  The  first  voyages  of  Columbus  were 
not  remunerative  ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  many  Spaniards 

*  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  vol.  i.,  p.  172. 


412  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

wlio  Lad  made  heavy  investments  in  his  enter^^rise  were  dis- 
satisfied with  the  results.  With  a  view  to  meet  the  appro- 
bation of  these  capitalists,  Columbus  during  one  of  his  voy- 
ages to  Mexico,  captured  and  carried  to  Spain  a  cargo  of 
Indian  slaves.  These  slaves  were  landed,  taken  to  Sala- 
manca, and  advertised  to  be  sold  at  auction;  but  the  intelli- 
gence reached  the  ears  of  Isabella,  who  at  once  put  a  stoj)  to 
the  sale,  and  sent  them  back  in  peace  to  their  own  country, 
declaring  that  these  poor  people  had  been  intrusted  to  her 
by  the  holy  father,  for  the  purpose  of  Christianizing  and 
civilizing  them,  and  not  to  enslave  them  or  to  make  money 
out  of  them. 

Long  after  Indian  slavery  had  been  abolished  in  Mexico, 
through  the  agency  of  Las  Casas  and  his  fellow-missionaries, 
Puritan  Massachusetts  was  daily  killing  and  enslaving  the 
unfortunate  Indians  who  dwelt  in  her  vicinity.  And  while 
these  Puritan  civilizers  were  torturino;  and  hansfing:  witches 
in  Salem,  the  priests  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  Mexico  had 
put  a  stoj)  to  all  Aztec  persecutions  for  witchcraft,  and 
swept  the  dreadful  superstition  from  the  land. 

In  1'7'72  and  '73,  before  the  Revolution,  before  intolerant 
radicals  of  N'ew  Engjland  had  commenced  their  insolent  acci- 
tations  and  interference  with  the  domestic  affairs  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  when  calm  reason  alone  influenced  the 
people  of  all  the  slave  sections,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Patrick 
Henry,  and  George  Mason,  all  owners  of  slaves,  earnestly 
advised  Virginia  to  cease  the  existing  traffic,  and  enter  upon 
a  process  of  gradual  emancipation.  Had  ISlew  England 
fanaticism  never  have  existed,  slavery  would  long  since  have 
been  abolished  in  all  the  border  States,  by  the  spontane- 
ous action  of  the  slave-owners  themselves.  We  were  in- 
formed by  an  aged  and  eminent  judge  of  Kentucky,  who  had 
made  "  wills  "  his  business  specialty  during  the  first  thirty 
years  of  his  professional  career,  that  nearly  every  man  who 
made  a  will  at  that  early  period,  manumitted  a  part,  and  in 
many  instances  all  of  his  slaves ;  and  he  expressed  the  opin- 
ion, that  if  the  spontaneous  operations  of  the  natural  laws 


HUMAN   SLAVERY   IN    NEW   ENGLAND.  413 

of  humanity  and  justice  had  continued  for  thirty  years  longer, 
uninterrupted  by  the  interference  of  New  England  agitators, 
slavery  would  have  ceased  to  exist.  Similar  opinions  have 
often  been  expressed  by  eminent  men  of  the  other  border 
States. 


CHAPTEE   XXXI. 

PURITANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 
Influence  on  Morals^  Manners^  and  Politics. 

Foe  more  tlian  one  hundred  years  after  the  first  settle- 
ment of  New  England,  morality  consisted  in  an  adhesion  to 
the  dogmas  of  Calvinism,  and  a  regular  attendance  at  one  of 
the  orthodox  churches  on  Sundays  and  festal  days.  Tow- 
ard each  other  these  sectaries  were  not  remarkably  unjust  or 
oppressive ;  but  toward  all  of  different  opinions,  Avhether 
civilized  or  savage,  they  were  intolerant,  cruel,  and  in  the 
liighest  degree  immoral,  as  we  have  shown  in  the  last  chapter. 

Socially  these  early  men  of  the  nation  were  cold,  selfish, 
and  unsympathetic.  The  affections  and  the  emotions  rarely 
found  an  abiding-place  in  their  families.  Pastimes,  plays, 
spectacular  representations,  wit,  humor,  and  mirth,  were  re- 
garded as  sinful ;  while  a  lugubrious  face,  a  nasal  articula- 
tion, and  an  assuri^ption  of  stern  asceticism  were  j^assports 
to  public  favor.  Bigotry  and  sullen  moroseness  Avere  im- 
pressed upon  every  feature  and  every  act  of  the  Puritans,  re- 
pelling frankness,  geniality,  and  the  more  refined  sentiments 
and  emotions  of  the  heart.  In  their  estimation,  a  solemn 
expression  and  groans  were  indications  of  godliness ;  while 
mirth  and  laughter  were  regarded  as  indices  of  ungodliness. 
These  traits  exercised  a  predominant  influence  over  their 
descendants  for  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  years,  thus 
flooding  the  colonies  with  intolerant  sectaries.  But  by  this 
time  many  new  immigrants  had  arrived  from  various  j)arts  of 


PURITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES.  415 

Europe,  bringing  with  them  a  variety  of  religious  and  social 
opinions.  Gradually  these  new  views  were  presented  to  tlie 
minds  of  the  rising  generations  of  Puritans,  and  their  faith  in 
Calvinistic  fatalism  was  often  rudely  shaken.  Their  heredi- 
tary faith  was  indeed  frequently  disturbed ;  but,  unfortunately, 
instead  of  adopting  a  better  religion,  they  generally  rushed 
blindly  into  irreligion  and  atheism.  When  an  outlet  was 
once  made  for  their  pent-up  bigotry,  tlie  raging  current  too 
often  carried  away  every  vestige  of  conscience  and  true  re- 
ligion, leaving  in  their  places  rationalism,  skepticism,  deism, 
and  atheism. 

From  Calvinism  to  infidelity  is  but  a  short  step.  As 
the  New  England  of  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centu- 
ries interpreted  these  dogmas,  man  was  not  a  free  agent,  but 
a  passive  and  helpless  object.  Instead  of  regarding  their 
Maker  as  a  Being  of  infinite  love  and  mercy,  their  doctrines 
forced  them  to  see  in  Him  elements  of  partiality,  injustice, 
and  wanton  cruelty ;  and  these  perverted  and  sacrilegious 
ideas  of  the  Infinite  Fountain  of  love  and  goodness  have  ex- 
ercised a  baneful  influence  upon  the  civilization  of  North 
America  during  the  past  two  and  a  half  centuries.  This  in- 
fluence may  be  witnessed  at  the  present  day,  in  the  policy 
and  conduct  of  the  radicals  of  the  United  States.  Intolerance 
and  partisan  persecution  characterize  all  their  exjn'cssions  and 
actions.  Not  a  single  element  of  charity,  benevolence,  mag- 
nanimity, or  justice  enters  into  their  composition.  Under 
impulses  of  questionable  patriotism  and  morality  they  have 
converted  the  halls  of  Congress  into  political  gambling-houses, 
where  the  liberties  and  rights  of  the  people  are  daily  staked 
and  imperilled  in  desperate  struggles  for  jDartisan  and  sec- 
tional power. 

Nearly  the  entire  socialistic  and  skeptical  element  of  the 
nation  is  found  in  the  ranks  of  radicalism.  Their  most  active 
exponents  belong  to  this  class  ot*  men.  A  careful  investiga- 
tion will  demonstrate  the  instructive  fact,  that  nearly  every 
one  of  these  individuals  is  either  a  native  of  New  England 
or  a  direct  descendant  of  the  Puritans.     A  general  belief  in 


416  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

tlie  supernatural  was  a  direct  offsj^riug  of  Massachusetts 
Puritanism,  as  is  evident  from  the  colonial  laws  and  penalties 
against  witchcraft,  and  the  horrible  torturings  and  hangings 
of  hundreds  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children  for  reputed 
witchcraft  during  the  height  of  Puritan  power  and  influence. 
After  Charles  11.  laid  his  strong  hand  upon  the  bloodthirsty 
parsons  of  Salem  and  Boston,  and  their  aiders  and  abetters, 
and  prohibited  them  by  a  royal  edict  from  any  further  perse- 
cutions of  the  unfortunate  victims  of  their  superstition  or 
hatred,  the  dreadful  phantom  temporarily  disappeared  within 
the  dark  recesses  of  their  hearts,  where  it  remained  latent  for 
several  generations.  But  in  this  nineteenth  century,  among 
the  descendants  and  blood-relations  of  the  same  Puritans,  the 
fiend  has  again  made  his  appearance,  and  now  holds  his  sway 
over  millions  of  deluded  individuals.  The  organizations  and 
churches  of  these  disorganizers  extend  all  over  the  Northern, 
Middle,  and  Western  States,  and  they  can  hail  their  adher- 
ents in  Cabinet,  Congress,  press,  pulpit,  court,  club,  and 
every  Avalk  of  life.  Oj^posed  to  the  Christian  religion,  de- 
nying the  divine  mission  of  Christ,  and  ever  seeking  to  sub- 
vert the  existing  condition  of  morals  and  social  order,  these 
men  have  naturally  attached  themselves  to  the  radical  faction, 
as  affording  them  the  best  opportunity  of  carrying  out  their 
innovating  designs.  In  their  ranks  are  many  men  of  talent 
and  literary  culture,  and  their  system  of  proselyting  is  in  the 
highest  degree  insidious  and  Machiavellian.  They  will  pre- 
sent you  with  profound  maxims  of  philosophy,  with  beautiful 
o-ems  from  the  classics,  with  rare  and  curious  treasures  from 
ancient  lore,  and  pander  to  all  your  preconceived  notions 
and  prejudices  but  one.  Unfortunately  for  the  credulous 
victim,  this  one  point  of  difference  consists  in  his  belief  in  the 
inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
Every  argument  which  ingenuity  can  devise  is  brought  to 
bear  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  Bible,  and  to  substitute  for 
its  sacred  doctrines  and  commandments,  the  rationalistic  ideas 
and  practices  of  modern  spiritualism. 

Other  legitimate  offspring  of  the  Puritan  system  are,  a 


rUBITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  417 

great  increase  of  tlie  various  forms  of  open  and  avowed 
rationalism  and  skepticism.  The  number  of  adherents  and 
supporters  of  these  various  sects  or  classes  in  the  United 
States  has  been  estimated  Vii  five  jnillions.  In  common  with 
the  spiritualists,  nearly  all  these  persons  deny  the  divinity 
of  Christ,  and  regard  Ilis  teachings  as  of  less  consequence 
tlian  the  maxims  of  Plato  or  Aristotle.  Their  elastic  doc- 
trines are  so  framed  that  they  can  adapt  themselves  to  every 
conceivable  prejudice  of  the  human  mind,  as  well  as  to  any 
given  political  or  social  condition.  Tliese  men  are  constantly 
indulging  in  Utopian  schemes  of  progress.  Measuring 
every  thing  in  accordance  with  their  own  ideas  of  fitness, 
fancying  defects  in  all  existing  arrangements,  they  are  natu- 
rally innovators  and  disorganizers ;  and,  had  they  power, 
would  reverse  the  laws  of  nature,  overthrow  all  political, 
moral,  and  social  order,  and  reorganize  a  world  after  a  new 
and  more  radical  pattern.  So  far  as  the  Christian  religion 
squares  with  their  standards  and  their  rational  hypotheses, 
they  tolerate  and  patronize  it ;  but  in  all  cases  where  it  fails 
to  coincide  with  the  "  great  moral  ideas  of  Radicalism,"  it  is 
sneered  at  and  practically  repudiated. 

"No  candid  man  can  contemplate  the  conduct  of  these 
rationalistic  leaders  and  their  allies,  the  radical  parsons  of 
the  North,  during  the  past  six  years,  without  instincti^'ely 
ranking  them  as  "false  teachers,"  "false  prophets,"  and, 
practically,  infidels.  No  one  can  call  to  mind  the  partisan 
frenzy  of  these  eloquent  lecturers,  writers,  and  pulpit  poli- 
ticians during  the  past  few  years,  without  shuddering  at  the 
demoralization  and  depravity  of  classes  of  men  professing  to 
be  teachers  of  great  moral  ideas,  and  pastors  of  the  Prince 
of  Peace. 

During  the  very  darkest  period  of  the  mediaeval  ages,  in  the 
middle  of  the  tenth  century,  when  Normandy  was  attacked 
and  subjugated  by  the  heathen  Norsemen  under  Polio,  the 
vanquished  Christians  of  France  were  treated  by  these  wor- 
shippers of  Thor  and  Odin  with  greater  magnanimity  and 
forbearance  than  the  vanquished  people  of  the  Southern 
18* 


41 S  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

States  are  treated  by  the  radical  Christians  of  this  nineteenth 
century.  The  rude  pirates  from  Denmark  and  Korway, 
after  they  had  taken  forcible  possession  of  Rouen,  Bayeux, 
and  other  cities  and  provinces  of  Normandy,  and  disarmed 
the  native  inhabitants,  scorned  to  pursue  with  vengeance 
and  oppression  the  unresisting  Normans  beyond  simple  sub- 
jugation and  submission.  They  scorned  to  hold  their  pros- 
trate victims  by  the  throat  after  war  had  ceased,  under  the 
pretext  that  they  still  harbored  sentiments  of  hostility,  and 
might  not  obey  in  all  respects  their  conquerors.  But  the 
radical  Christians  of  the  present  day  entertain  no  such  scru- 
ples respecting  mercy,  humanity,  and  forgiveness.  Happy 
would  it  be  for  the  subjugated  South,  as  well  as  for  the  sta- 
bility of  the  Republic,  could  they  exchange  their  ferocious 
and  tyrannical  conquerors  of  1867  for  Rollo  and  his  barbarian 
hosts  of  945.  They  would  meet  with  more  mercy  at  the 
hands  of  the  heathen  priests  of  Thor  and  Odin  than  from 
the  pseudo-Christian  ministers  and  legislators  of  modern 
radicalism. 

There  would  be  some  hope  in  the  midst  of  our  waning 
liberties,  and  steady  decay  of  democratic  and  republican  in- 
stitutions, were  it  not  for  the  almost  universal  licentiousness 
and  depravation  of  the  people  of  the  North.  As  in  imperial 
Rome,  after  the  downfall  of  the  republic,  the  public  senti- 
ment of  this  disunited  nation  has  become  corrupted  and  de- 
bauched. By  means  of  a  mercenary  praetorian  guard,  the 
Cossars  of  the  first  two  centuries  of  the  Christian  era  were 
able  to  manipulate  the  debased  Roman  senates  as  tyranny 
dictated;  while  the  unarmed  and  powerless  Roman  citizens 
were  amused  with  the  exciting  displays  of  the  Colosseum,  the 
race-courses,  and  the  temples  of  heathen  worship  and  bac- 
chanalian revels.  Here  a  corrupt  and  fanatical  Congress, 
Avith  the  army  at  its  back,  rules  both  President  and  peoj)le, 
and,  by  unconstitutional  and  partisan  enactments,  they  have 
firmly  bound  him  and  the  nation  in  radical  chains. 

Among  the  results  which  have  already  accrued  from  this 
partisan  legislation  are,  the  destruction  of  more  than  half  a 


PUEITANISM    IN   THE    UNITED   STATES.  419 

million  of  ignorant  and  helpless  blacks  by  war,  pestilence, 
and  famine,  and  the  probable  extermination  of  the  balance 
in  a  few  generations.  The  red  men  of  the  United  States 
are  practically  exterminated;  and  the  black  men  will  ere 
long  meet  the  same  fate.  This  is  termed  philanthropy  and 
Christian  civilization ;  but  impartial  history  will  designate 
these  acts  as  barbarous. 

As  the  degenerate  Romans  advanced  toward  their  down- 
fall, laws  were  multiplied,  and  existing  statutes  altered  and 
amended  at  the  instigation  of  ambitious  demagogues,  until 
scarcely  a  trace  of  the  original  constitution  of  the  republic 
could  be  recognized.  Thus  all  respect  for  established  laws 
gradually  ceased,  and  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  emperors, 
promulgated  by  subservient  senates,  was  the  only  acknowl- 
edged law.  The  history  of  all  nations  demonstrates  that 
the  unnecessary  multiplication  of  laws  and  official  bureaux, 
with  their  attendant  expenditures,  invariably  leads  to  na- 
tional corruption  and  ultimate  decay. 

Similar  events  are  now  transpiring  in  the  disrupted  Re- 
public of  North  America.  The  great  statesmen  and  patriots 
are  all  dead,  and  demagogues  rule  the  destinies  of  the  na- 
tion. The  glorious  Constitution,  and  the  wise  laws  of  the 
eminent  statesmen  and  fxthers  of  the  Republic  have  been  so 
mutilated  and  perverted  by  the  political  Goths  and  Yandals 
at  Washington,  as  scarcely  to  be  recognized  as  the  offspring 
of  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Hamilton,  and  Webster. 
The  organic  statutes  which  have  presided  over  the  Republic 
for  nearly  a  century,  and  have  conduced  so  highly  to  the 
general  prosperity  and  happiness,  are  now  being  daily  dese- 
crated and  torn  in  fragments  by  political  pigmies  in  the  halls 
of  Congress.  Woe  be  to  the  nation  when  such  men  stand  in 
the  places  of  the  departed  statesmen  and  patriots  of  the  past ! 
Woe  be  to  those  sections  which  have  been  subjugated  and 
enslaved  by  these  vindictive  Congressional  Neros !  God 
grant  that  a  Clay  or  a  Webster  may  soon  appear,  who  will 
grapple  with  the  political  charlatans  of  a  sectional  Congress, 
and  arrest  the  progress  of  fanaticism  and  national  decay. 


420  CHEISTIANITY    AND   ITS    COHTLICTS. 

In  some  resj^ects  the  condition  of  America  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  similar  to  that  which  cursed  England  under 
Cromwell  and  the  Long  Parliament.  In  1649  Puritanical 
radicalism  reached  its  climax  in  England.  The  people  clam- 
ored for  a  change  of  government,  of  laws,  and  of  the  consti- 
tution, as  well  as  for  the  blood  of  the  king  and  his  friends. 
They  sent  Charles  I.  to  the  block,  tampered  with  all  the 
ancient  landmarks  of  order,  and  public  and  private  security, 
and  altered  and  amended  eveiy  law,  statute,  and  even  the 
constitution  itself,  until  the  liberties  of  the  people  were  anni- 
hilated. Efforts  were  made  to  restrict  the  very  laws  of  na- 
ture by  legal  enactments,  and  the  exuberant  health  and  spir- 
its of  the  happy  Englishman  were  barred  up  within  their 
mortal  enclosures,  lest  their  escape  should  diffuse  geniality 
and  haj^piness.  But  Englishmen  could  not  long  submit  to 
the  Pharisaical  si^irit  and  domination  of  these  early  radicals. 
In  alluding  to  them  Macaulay  thus  writes :  "  The  fine  arts 
were  all  but  proscribed.  The  solemn  peal  of  the  organ  was 
superstitious.  The  light  music  of  Ben  Jonson's  masques  was 
dissolute.  Half  the  fine  j^aintings  in  England  Avere  idola- 
trous, and  the  other  half  indecent.  The  extreme  Puritan 
was  at  once  known  from  other  men  by  his  gait,  his  garb,  his 
lank  hair,  the  sour  solemnity  of  his  face,  the  upturned  white 
of  his  eyes,  the  nasal  twang  with  which  he  spoke,  and,  above 
all,  his  peculiar  dialect."  * 

This  canting  "  nasal  t1\rang "  is  still  a  characteristic  of 
Puritanism  throughout  New  England,  and  among  their  de- 
scendants in  all  parts  of  the  world.  As  in  the  days  of  Crom- 
well and  his  Roundheads,  the  Puritans  are  still  "lank-haired," 
"  nasal-tongued,"  Judas-visaged,  and  canting.  In  England 
a  few  years  sufiiced  to  disgust  the  people  with  the  mad  fanat- 
icism of  Cromwell  and  his  partisan  fixction,  and  to  incline 
them  to  return  to  a  reign  of  law,  order,  and  justice.  It  was 
a  happy  day  for  England  when  her  much-abused  children 
repudiated  the  policy  of  Cromwell   and   his   Long   Parlia- 

*-  "  History  of  England,"  vol.  i.,  p.  61. 


PUEITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  421 

mciit,  and  restored  to  the  throne   their  lawful   sovereign, 
Charles  H. 

These  images  are  written  in  April,  1867,  w^hen  Nortliern 
radicalism  is  in  the  ascendant,  while  their  reckless  Congres- 
sional resolutions  and  amendments  are  subverting  the  exist- 
ing Constitution  and  laws,  and  while  millions  of  treasure  are 
being  squandered  in  keeping  up  a  Freedmen's  Bureau,  a  large 
partisan  army,  and  other  useless  organizations  for  the  perpet- 
uation of  the  ruling  party.  But  w^e  venture  a  prediction. 
Ere  long  the  apparent  prosperity  and  the  high  values  will 
prove  to  be  fictitious,  because  founded  on  a  monstrous  and 
abnormal  expansion  of  paper  currency.  The  burdens  of  tax- 
ation are  bearing  heavily  upon  all  classes,  and  the  mountain 
of  public  debt  rises  higher  and  higher  daily.  The  toiling 
laborer  finds  himself  taxed  for  all  the  necessaries  of  life. 
jSTearly  one-half  his  life's  blood  and  his  vitality  arc  forever 
pledged  to  pay  taxes  on  an  unjustly  large  national  debt. 
While  tens  of  thousands  of  farmers,  mechanics,  and  day-la- 
borers are  painfully  toiling  for  bread  for  themselves  and  fam- 
ilies, deprived  of  most  of  the  comforts  and  luxuries  to  which 
they  were  formerly  accustomed,  the  first  avails  of  their  labors 
are  seized  by  tax-gatherers  to  feed,  clothe,  and  educate  four 
millions  of  indolent  blacks,  and  to  sustain  the  expensive  po- 
litical machinery  of  partisan  radicalism.  Paj^er  expansion 
has  unduly  augmented  every  branch  of  trade  and  manufac- 
ture, until  markets  are  overstocked  and  business  has  serious- 
ly declined.  Financial  troubles  are  imj^ending,  and  must 
ere  long  culnunate  in  a  general  suspension  or  diminution  of 
commercial  and  industrial  enterprises,  and  the  legitimate 
consequences  of  want  of  employment,  and  distress  and  sutFer- 
ing  among  the  laboring  classes.  Then  will  come  the  crash, 
riots,  struggles  for  shelter,  bread,  and  other  necessaries  of 
existence.  Then  will  a  deceived  and  injured  j^eople  be  driven 
by  hunger,  want,  and  sufferings  of  all  kinds,  to  seek  out  and 
grapple  with  the  fimatical  authors  of  their  calamities.  Then 
will  a  just  retribution  fall  upon  these  political  IsTeros  who 
have  robbed  the  Republic  of  her  treasures  and  her  liberties. 


422  cnpjSTiANiTY  AND  rrs  conflicts. 

The  Frcucli  Revolution,  with  its  "  reign  of  terror,"  was  a 
simple  and  direct  result  of  over-taxation.  The  expensive 
wars  which  Louis  XIY.  had  waged  with  England  and  other 
countries  had  raised  a  large  national  debt ;  and  the  corrup- 
tions of  subsequent  rulers  only  served  to  increase  it  until  its 
burdens  became  intolerable  to  the  workingmen  of  the  king- 
dom. This  excessive  taxation,  with  its  consequent  suffer- 
ings, was  the  direct  cause  of  the  Revolution  of  1789.  The 
same  cause  and  the  same  consequences  may  lead  to  a  similar 
reaction  in  this  country  within  the  next  few  years. 

As  the  Romans  of  the  emj^ire  centralized  their  power  in 
Rome,  and  held  the  surrounding  nations  Avhich  their  legions 
had  conquered  in  slavish  subjection  as  vassals,  so  have  the 
American  radicals  of  the  present  day  centralized  their  power 
in  Washington ;  and  they  now  hold  in  vassalage  the  van- 
quished people  of  the  Southern  States. 

After  the  present  partisan  madness  shall  have  passed 
away,  and  reason  again  shall  resume  sway,  the  world  will 
contemplate  with  amazement  the  acts  which  have  been  per- 
petrated in  this  pseudo-Republic  by  the  dominant  party 
during  the  past  six  years.  The  simple  fiat  of  any  one  of  the 
special  tools  of  radicalism  has  been  able  at  any  time  to  oblit- 
erate practically  the  Constitution  of  "Washington  and  the 
fathers,  and  to  substitute  in  its  stead  his  own  arbitrary  and 
vindictive  will.  American  citizens — men  and  women — have 
been  torn  from  their  families  without  cause,  without  process 
of  law,  and  without  accusation,  and  consigned  to  damp  and 
deadly  dungeons  for  months  and  years  in  blind  obedience  to 
the  caprices  or  personal  malice  of  individuals.  Some  of  these 
victims  have  perished  in  prison,  some  are  still  in  confinement, 
and  others  have  been  liberated  with  impaired  constitutions — ■ 
innocent,  unaccused,  and  impoverished.  At  the  instigation 
of  these  partisans,  all  important  elections  have  been  held 
under  military  dictation,  and  the  elective  franchise  has  been 
converted  into  a  bitter  mockery.  Entire  regiments,  crews  of 
men-of-war,  and  communities  have  been  forced,  imder  military 
coercion,  to  cast  their  votes  at  the  dictation  of  radical  ofiicers 


PURITANISM    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES.  423 

and  detectives.  Every  species  of  corruption,  fj-aud,  and 
intimidation  has  been  brought  to  bear  by  tliese  men,  to  pre- 
vent a  free  and  fair  expression  of  opinion  at  the  ballot-box. 
Acts  liave  been  committed  by  these  politicians  which  no 
monarch  of  England  could  have  perpetrated  within  the  past 
five  hundred  years  without  the  loss  of  his  crown  and  his 
head.* 

The  following  graphic  portraiture,  by  Lord  Macaulay,  of 
one  of  the  monsters  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1789,  Ber- 
trand  Barrere,  applies  so  admirably  to  at  least  one  of  these 
radical  partisans,  that  we  quote  it  in  this  connection  as  a  sin- 
gvJar  phenomenon  that  two  human  beings  so  utterly  depraved 
could  exist  within  the  space  of  a  single  centurJ^  The  world 
will  be  at  a  loss  in  the  attempt  to  decide  as  to  which  of 
tliese  two  creatures  deserves  the  lowest  degree  of  contempt 
and  execration.  As  the  scales  of  infamy  are  so  evenly  bal- 
anced between  them,  we  shall  express  no  opinion,  but  submit 
a  brief  delineation  of  the  prominent  traits  of  each  individual, 
and  refer  the  decision  to  the  reader. 

After  deliberate  investigation  of  all  the  facts  respecting 
Barrere,  as  presented  in  the  "  Memoires  de  Bertrand  Barrere," 
published  by  M.  Hippolyte  Carnot,  in  Paris,  1843,  Macau- 
lay  thus  writes :  "  Our  opinion,  then,  is  this  :  that  Barrere 
approached  nearer  than  any  person  mentioned  in  history  or 
fiction,  whether  man  or  devil,  to  the  idea  of  consummate  and 
universal  depravity.  In  him  the  qualities  which  are  the 
proper  objects  of  hatred,  and  the  qualities  which  are  the 
proper  objects  of  contcmj^t,  preserve  an  exquisite  and  absolute 
harmony.     In  almost  every  particular  sort  of  wickedness  he 

has  had  rivals There  have  been  many  men  as  cowardly 

as  he,  some  as  cruel,  a  few  as  mean,  a  few  as  impudent. 
There  may  also  have  been  as  great  liars,  though  we  never 
met  with  them  or  read  of  them.  But  when  we  put  every 
thing  together — sensuality,  poltroonery,  baseness,  effrontery, 

*  As  an  example  of  these  tyrannical  and  fraudulent  proceedings,  we  refer  the 
reader  to  the  arrest,  imprisonment,  and  mock  trial  of  Colonel  Samuel  North, 
Levi  Cohn,  and  Marvin  M.  Jones,  in  the  Presidential  election  of  1864. 


424  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

mendacity,  barbarity — the  result  is  something  which  in  a  novel 
we  should  condemn  as  caricature,  and  to  which,  we  venture 
to  say,  no  parallel  can  be  found  in  history. 

"  It  v\^ould  be  grossly  unjust,  we  acknowledge,  to  try  a 
man  situated  as  Barrere  was,  by  a  severe  standard.  Nor 
have  we  done  so.  We  have  formed  our  opinion  of  him  by 
comparing  him,  not  with  politicians  of  stainless  character, 
not  with  Chancellor  D'Aguesseau,  or  General  Washington, 
or  Mr.  Wilberforce,  or  Earl  Grey,  but  with  his  own  colleagues 
of  the  Mountain.  That  party  included  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  worst  men  that  ever  lived ;  but  we  see  in  it  nothing 
like  Barrere.  Compared  with  him,  Fouche  seems  honest; 
Billaud  seems  humane;  Hebert  seems  to  rise  into  dignity. 
*  Every  other  chief  of  a  party,'  says  M.  Hippolyte  Carnot, 
'  has  found  apologists ;  one  set  of  men  exalts  the  Girondists  ; 
another  set  justifies  Danton  ;  a  third  deifies  Robespierre  ;  but 
Barrere  has  remained  without  a  defender.'  We  venture  to 
suggest  a  very  simple  solution  of  this  phenomenon.  All  of 
the  other  chiefs  of  parties  had  some  good  qualities,  and 
Barrere  had  none. .  . .  This  weakest  and  most  servile  of  human 
beings  found  himself  on  a  sudden  an  actor  in  a  revolution 
which  convulsed  the  whole  civilized  world.  At  first,  he  fell 
under  the  influence  of  humane  and  moderate  men,  and  talked 
the  language  of  humanity  and  moderation.  But  he  soon 
found  himself  surrounded  by  fierce  and  resolute  spirits,  scared 
by  no  danger  and  restrained  by  no  scruple.  He  had  to 
choose  whether  lie  v/ould  be  their  victim  or  their  accomplice. 
His  choice  Avas  soon  made.  He  tasted  blood,  and  felt  no 
loathing;  he  tasted  it  again,  and  liked  it  well.  Cruelty  be- 
came with  him  first  a  habit,  then  a  passion,  at  last  a  madness. 
So  complete  and  rapid  was  the  degeneracy  of  his  nature,  that 
Vvathin  a  very  few  months  after  the  time  when  he  had  passed 
for  a  good-natured  man,  he  had  brought  himself  to  look  on 
the  despair  and  misery  of  his  fellow-creatures  with  a  glee 
resembling  that  of  the  fiends  whom  Dante  saw  watching  the 
pool  of  seething  pitch  in  Malebolge.  Pie  had  many  associates 
in  guilt ;  but  lie  distinguished  himself  from  them  all  by  the 


PUEITANISM   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES.  425 

bacchanalian  exultation  which  he  seemed  to  feel  in  the  work 
of  death.  He  was  drunk  with  innocent  and  noble  blood, 
laughed  and  shouted  as  he  butchered,  and  howled  strange 

songs  and  reeled  in  strange  dances  amidst  the  carnage 

Having  appalled  the  whole  world  by  great  crimes  perpetrated 
under  the  pretence  of  zeal  for  liberty,  he  became  the  meanest 

of  all  the  tools  of  despotism "Whatsoever  things  arc 

fiilse,  whatsoever  things  are  dishonest,  whatsoever  things  are 
unjust,  whatsoever  things  are  impure,  whatsoever  things  are 
hateful,  whatsoever  things  are  of  evil  report,  if  there  be  any 
vice,  and  if  there  be  any  infamy,  all  these  things,  we  knew  , 

were  blended  in  Barrere Something  more  we  had  to  say 

about  him,  but  let  him  go ;  we  did  not  seek  him  out,  and  will 
not  keep  him  longer.  If  those  who  call  themselves  his  friends 
had  not  forced  him  on  our  notice,  we  should  never  have 
vouchsafed  to  him  more  than  a  passing  word  of  scorn  and 
abhorrence,  such  as  we  mii^ht  flinor  at  his  brethren  Hebert 
and  Fouquier  Tinville,  and  Carrier  and  Lebon.  We  have  no 
pleasure  in  seeing  human  nature  thus  degraded.  We  turn 
with  disgust  from  the  filthy  and  spiteful  Yahoos  of  the  fiction  ; 
and  the  filthiest  and  most  spiteful  Yahoo  of  the  fiction  was  a 
noble  creature  vfhen  compared  with  the  Barrere  of  history. 
But  what  is  no  pleasure  M.  Hippolyte  Carnot  has  made  a 

duty By  attempting  to  enshrine  this  Jacobin  carrion, 

he  has  forced  us  to  gibbet  it ;  and  v/e  venture  to  say  that 
from  the  eminence  of  infamy  on  which  we  have  placed  it,  he 
Avill  not  easily  take  it  down."  * 

Thousands  of  persecuted  and  bereaved  men,  women,  and 
children  of  the  United  States  can  rise  up  to-day,  and  in  their 
impoverishment  and  wretchedness  brand  the  radical  tyrants 
of  our  epoch  with  the  damning  characters  which  the  great 
English  historian  has  so  indelibly  affixed  to  Barrere.  All 
respectable  individuals  throughout  the  civilized  Avorld,  regard 
these  modern  American  embodiments  of  the  French  Jacobin 
Committee  of  Public  Safety — the  Barreres,  the  Bobespierrcs, 
the  St.  Justs,  the  Couthons,  the  Collots,  the  Billauds  of  the 

*  The  "Works  of  Lord  Macaulay,  vol.  viL,  pp.  124,  203. 


426  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

revolutionary  tribunal  of  1789 — with  undisguised  abhor- 
rence and  execration.  From  their  thrones  emperors  and 
kings  can  contemplate  with  contemptuous  mockery  an 
entire  nation  subjected  to  the  despotic  will  and  the  crushing 
tyrannies  of  cowardly,  treacherous,  mendacious,  and  sangui- 
nary officials  for  years  in  succession.  With  infinite  compla- 
cency they  can  contrast  the  innumerable  arbitrary  arrests 
and  imprisonments  which  have  occurred  in  this  country  dur- 
ing the  past  five  years,  with  their  own  more  just  and  merciful 
laws.  They  can  hurl  back  upon  us  with  justice,  as  well  as 
with  scorn  the  terms  despotism,  tyranny,  usurpation,  op" 
pression. 

In  every  one  of  the  radical  Jacobins  of  the  French  Revo- 
lution exce^Dt  Barrere,  Macaulay  could  find  some  redeeming 
trait,  some  germ  of  the  better  emotions  of  humanity.  In  like 
manner  may  be  found  some  redeeming  point  in  each  of  the 
sanguinary  radicals  of  the  American  Revolution  of  1861, 
except  one.  These  two  men  will  stand  alone  on  the  highest 
roll  of  infamy  in  the  future  pages  of  history. 

When  Lord  Macaulay  sketched  this  portraiture  of  Barrere, 
he  fully  belicA^ed  that  he  was  the  most  infamous  man  of 
the  world.  But  he  was  mistaken.  One  man  had  lived  be- 
fore the  French  Revolution,  and  one  has  lived  since,  who  are 
his  peers  in  the  characteristics  enumerated  by"  the  English 
writer.  Every  one  will  instinctively  acknowledge  this  fact 
when  he  calls  to  mind  the  betrayer  of  the  Saviour,  and  the 
radical  Barrere  of  America.  If  any  exception  can  be  taken  to 
this  classification,  it  must  be  in  favor  of  Judas,  who  had  the 
grace  to  go  and  hang  himself  rather  than  survive  his  mon- 
strous iniquities. 

Robespierre,  Marat,  St.  Just,  Ilebert,  Tinville,  Danton, 
and  even  Barrere,  all  had  their  defenders  among  the  radicals 
of  the  Mountain,  during  the  French  reign  of  terror;  but 
Avhen  the  madness  of  the  hour  had  passed  away,  the  entire 
civilized  world  regarded  them  with  execration  and  abhor- 
rence. So  had  Iscariot  his  defenders  among  the  Pharisees 
of  Caiaphas,  for  a  single  generation  ;  but  since  that  j^eriod  he 


rUlilTANISM   IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  427 

lias  been  despised  and  detested  by  every  Christian,  Jew, 
Pagan,  and  Turk,  in  the  universe.  Nor  is  it  impossible  that 
even  the  Barrere  of  the  j)resent  day  may  have  his  defenders 
among  tlie  most  shameless  radical  fanatics  of  tliis  American 
reign  of  terror  and  despotism ;  but  wlien  the  present  parti- 
san frenzy  shall  have  subsided,  and  reason  and  justice  again 
resume  sway,  he  will  be  remembered  by  all  mankind  witli 
loathing,  curses,  and  shuddering  horror. 

We  have  drawn  a  pen-and-ink  sketch.  We  leave  it  for 
tlie  reader  to  find  the  original.  At  all  events,  when  the 
present  hideous  despotism  is  ended,  and  the  masses  of  the 
people  shall  have  awakened  from  their  j^olitical  debauch, 
public  opinion  will  trace  on  the  world's  tablet  of  crime  tlie 
name  of  this  monster  in  letters  of  blood. 

No  one  can  peruse  the  history  of  the  French  reign  of 
terror — its  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  its  Revolutionary  Tri- 
bunal, its  Bureau  of  Justice,  its  spy-system,  audits  Bastiles — 
without  recognizing  a  perfect  prototype  in  the  recent  radical 
reign  of  terror  in  the  United  States.  The  same  desperate 
class  of  men  were  in  possession  of  both  governments,  and  sim- 
ilar acts  of  wanton  atrocity  and  A'^indictiveness  characterized 
both  parties.  If  Jacobin  France  had  her  "  Committee  of  Pub- 
lic Safety,"  presided  over  by  such  monsters  as  Robespierre, 
Barrere,  St.  Just,  Couthon,Billaud,  and  Collot,  radical  Amer- 
ica also  had  her  committee  of  public  safety  in  the  Committee 
on  the  Conduct  of  the  War.  When  the  verdict  of  posterity 
shall  be  rendered  as  to  the  comparative  depravity  and  infamy 
of  the  two  committees,  humanity  will  shudder  in  awe  and  in 
silence  on  the  rendition  of  the  decision,  but  the  imps  of  dark- 
ness will  award  the  palm  to  the  more  modern  one  Avith 
acclamation.  Under  both  of  these  reigns  of  terror,  every 
citizen  who  presumed  to  dissent  from  the  fanatical  and  san- 
guinary policy  of  the  French  Jacobins,  or  the  American  rad- 
icals— the  party  of  the  "  Mountain,"  or  the  fiction  of  the 
"Rump" — was  vililied,  denounced,  and  mercilessly  crushed 
by  the  mad  fiends  in  power.  The  most  exalted  abilities,  the 
most  perfect  competency,  the  highest  personal  excellence, 


428  CHEISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

were  no  protection  against  their  malignant  attacks.  The 
most  noble,  talented,  and  pure  were  special  objects  of  both 
Jacobin  and  radical  vengeance. 

Contrast  the  Jacobin  bureau  of  military  justice,  under  the 
auspices  of  Marat,  Danton,  and  Tinville,  with  the  American 
radical  bureau  of  military  justice.  Both  were  organized  for 
purposes  of  jDartisan  and  personal  vengeance,  both  were  con- 
trolled by  the  vilest  leaders  of  the  several  factions,  both  were 
manipulated  by  the  mercenary  and  unscrupulous  agents  of  the 
desperate  leaders,  both  were  bitter  mockeries  of  justice,  honor, 
and  the  very  decencies  of  society.  Both  attempted  to  palliate 
their  atrocious  acts  under  the  plea  of  extreme  public  danger, 
and  the  necessity  of  prompt  and  summary  measures.  Both 
perpetrated  their  judicial  enormities  in  the  name  of  liberty. 
Both  had  their  public  accusers  and  judge-advocates,  and  botli 
were  organized  to  convict. 

If  we  examine  the  laws  of  evidence  which  were  adopted 
by  both  the  French  Jacobin  and  the  American  radical 
revolutionary  tribunals,  we  shall  find  that  the  latter  was 
almost  an  exact  copy  of  the  former.  Lord  Macaulay  thus 
sums  up  the  prominent  parts  of  this  novel  legal  code  :  "  The 
substantive  law  was  simply  this,  that  whatever  the  tribunal 
should  think  pernicious  to  the  republic  was  a  capital  crime. 
The  law  of  evidence  was  simply  this,  that  what  satisfied  the 
jurors  was  sufficient  proof.  The  law  of  procedure  was  of  a 
piece  With  every  thing  else.  There  was  to  be  an  advocate 
against  the  prisoner,  and  no  advocate  for  him.  It  was  ex- 
pressly declared  that  if  tlie  jurors  were  in  any  manner  con- 
vinced of  the  guilt  of  the  prisoner,  they  might  convict  him 
without  hearing  a  single  witness."  * 

If  we  turn  to  the  Jacobin  spy-system  under  the  control 
of  the  infamous  Fouclie,  an  organization  established  by  Ro- 
bespierre and  his  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  for  the  exj^ress 
purjDose  of  dogging  the  steps  of  personal  enemies,  and,  under 
the  pretext  of  military  necessity,  of  arresting  them  arbitrarily, 
and  sliutting  them  up  in  French  prisons,  or  sending  them  to 

*  The  "Works  of  Lord  Macaulay,  vol.  vii.,  p.  174. 


PUEITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  429 

the  giullotinc,  we  shall  also  find  its  counterpavt  in  the  late 
American  revolution.  It  was  not  easy  to  find  in  America  a 
man  with  the  peculiar  qualities  requisite  to  manage  this  dia- 
bolical institution.  But  in  time  an  individual  floated  to  the 
surface,  and  the  hideous  engine  was  placed  in  working  or- 
der. To  enumerate  the  many  crimes,  the  suppression  of 
Democratic  presses,  the  arbitrary  arrests,  the  persecutions, 
llie  torturings,  the  imprisonments,  and  the  destruction  of  pri- 
vate fortunes,  health,  and  life,  which  have  occurred  under  this 
atrocious  spy-system,  would  sicken  and  disgust  every  true 
American.  The  records  of  these  inhumanities  will  forever 
stand  as  a  monument  for  the  curses  and  execration  of  future 
ages  ;  and  the  names  of  the  cowardly  miscreants  who  insti- 
gated them,  in  common  with  those  of  their  Jacobin  j^roto- 
types  of  the  French  reign  of  terror,  will  be  shuddered  at  by 
all  future  readers  of  history.  Now,  after  the  radical  reign 
of  terror  is  partially  over,  after  untold  miseries  have  been 
wrought  upon  thousands  of  innocent  victims,  the  supreme 
judicial  tribunal  of  the  nation  has  pronounced  the  entire  pro- 
ceedings unconstitutional  and  arbitrary.  But  the  personal 
and  partisan  vengeance  of  half  a  score  of  radical  malignants, 
has  been  glutted  to  satiety ;  they  can  gloat  over  the  wrecks, 
the  ruin,  the  wretchedness  which  they  have  caused,  and  still 
hold  up  their  heads  in  mockery  and  defiance,  because  a  hu- 
miliated and  depraved  people  has  not  yet  dared  to  subject 
them  to  the  infamy  and  the  penalties  Avhich  are  their  due. 
But,  ere  long,  the  crisis  of  Thermidor  will  come ;  the  legiti- 
mate fruits  of  radical  misrule  will  manifest  themselves  in 
financial  and  commercial  disasters,  in  the  paralyzation  of  in- 
dustry, and  in  sufferings  of  all  kinds.  Then  will  a  reaction 
occur,  and  the  authors  of  these  calamities  will  be  dragged 
forth  by  a  starving  and  enraged  populace  to  receive  their 
reward.  For,  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  evils  of  the 
tyrannical  usurpation  to  which  we  have  alluded  will  termi- 
nate with  the  revolution  itself.  Thes^  evils  are  not  yet  fully 
developed ;  a  sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  allow  the 
festering  gangrene  of  Northern  radicalism  to  pervade  all  the 


4:30  CIIEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

ramifications  of  society.  The  reaction  from  the  great  revo- 
lutionary fever  is  not  yet  strongly  pronounced;  but  signs  of 
weakness  are  everywhere  apparent — signs  which  point  to 
eventual  prostration  and  possible  decay.  The  evils  which 
Macaulay  has  attributed  to  the  French  Revolution  may  with 
equal  justice  be  applied  to  our  own : 

"  We  could,  we  think,  also  show  that  the  evils  produced 
by  the  Jacobin  administration  did  not  terminate  when  it  fell; 
that  it  bequeathed  a  long  series  of  calamities  to  France  and 
to  Euroj^e ;  that  public  opinion,  which  had  during  two  gen- 
erations been  continually  becoming  more  and  more  favorable 
to  civil  and  religious  freedom,  underwent,  during  the  days  of 
terror,  a  change  of  which  the  traces  are  still  to  be  distinctly 
perceived.  It  was  natural  that  there  should  be  such  a  change, 
when  men  saw  that  those  who  called  themselves  the  cham- 
pions of  popular  rights  had  compressed  into  the  space  of  twelve 
months  more  crimes  than  the  kings  of  France — Merovingian, 
Carlovingian,  and  Capetian — had  perpetrated  in  twelve  cen- 
turies  And  so,  in  politics,  it  is  the  same  law  that  every 

excess  shall  generate  its  opposite ;  nor  does  he  deserve  the 
name  of  a  statesman  who  strikes  a  great  blow  without  fully 
calculating  the  effect  of  the  rebound."  * 

What  was  the  result  of  this  "  rebound  "  after  the  Jacobin 
revolution  ?  A  universal  clamor  for  a  monarchy,  for  a  strong 
and  consolidated  government,  for  a  restraint  upon  the  un- 
bridled passions  of  individuals.  What  was  the  result  of  the 
rebound  after  the  revolution  of  Cromwell  and  his  Round- 
heads in  England  ?  An  overwhelming  demand  for  Charles 
II.  and  the  monarchical  system.  In  self-defence,  for  security 
of  person  and  property,  to  obtain  order,  tranquillity,  justice, 
and  2^ros])erity,  the  j^eople  with  one  accord  denounced  the 
revolutionary  agitators,  and  flew  from  the  destructive  ex- 
periments of  political  visionaries  and  fanatics  to  kings  and 
monarchies.  What  has  been  thus  far  the  effect  of  the  re- 
bound after  our  own  revolution  ?  A  subversion  of  the  Con- 
stitution, an  overthrow  of  the  executive  and  judicial  branches 

*  The  Works  of  Lord  Macaulay,  vol.  vii.,  pp.  199,  200. 


PDEITANISM   IN   THE    UNITED    STATES.  431 

of  the  government,  and  a  consolidation  of  power  in  the  liands 
of  a  sectional  faction  and  a  sectional  Con<i'ress.  AVill  the 
people  ere  long  in  self-defence  demand  a  more  stable  and 
just  government — a  monarchy?     Time  alone  Avill  show  us. 

We  entreat  the  more  sane  of  the  dominant  party  of  the 
North  to  regard  attentively  these  tableaux  of  1789  and  1867, 
and  cease  their  mad  struggles  for  j^ower  and  vengeance.  At 
all  events,  now^  tliat  the  great  struggle  is  ended,  let  a  meas- 
ure of  reason,  charity,  and  humanity  become  incor^^orated  in 
the  councils  of  the  nation.  Let  tliem  repudiate  and  dismiss 
from  Washington  those  demons  of  iniquity  and  crime  who 
have  prostrated  republican  liberty,  and  degraded  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  estimation  of  every  civilized  people  on  earth. 
In  their  vindictive  efforts  against  the  vanquished  South,  let 
the  modern  radicals  and  Puritans  of  New  England  remember 
that  the  patriot  sires  of  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  sent 
cargoes  of  rice,  flour,  grain,  and  other  provisions  to  the  fam- 
ishing inhabitants  of  Boston  who,  in  1775,  were  suffering 
from  the  rigid,  blockade  by  the  ships  and  troops  of  George 
III.,  and  pause  in  their  career  of  tyranny  and  vengeance. 

No  popular  government  can  long  sustain  itself  under  a 
sectional  usurpation  of  power.  It  matters  not  what  cause  or 
causes  may  have  led  to  such  usurpation,  or  what  military 
and  financial  strength  may  be  brought  to  its  supj^ort ;  for  the 
principle  and  spirit  of  republicanism  is  entirely  antagonistic 
to  political  sectionalism  and  exclusiveness  in  all  forms.  A 
government  of  the  peojole  can  never  be  controlled  by  an  ex- 
clusive sectional  faction,  except  at  the  expense  of  free  insti- 
tutions and  civil  liberty.  The  exclusive  possession  of  power 
by  a  part  of  a  people,  wi,th  special  rights  and  privileges,  im- 
plies despotism,  although  it  is  the  despotism  of  a  party  in- 
stead of  a  single  rtian.  The  fathers  of  the  American  Republic 
framed  their  Constitution  with  a  view  of  c^uardino-  aQ:ainst  so 
great  a  calamity,  by  reserving  to  every  State  the  right  to 
regulate  its  own  domestic  affairs  in  all  matters  jiertaiuing 
to  the  State  itself  These  State  jDowers,  as  well  as  those  be- 
longing to  the    Federal    Government,  were  clearly  defined 


432  CnEISTlANITY   AOT)   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

by  the  eminent  statesmen  and  patriots  of  the  Revolution. 
But  what  has  the  boasted  civilization  of  the  past  quarter 
of  a  century  accomplished  respecting  civil  and  religious  lib- 
erty, and  human  progress  and  happiness  ?  Let  the  mad  con- 
tentions of  the  disunion  radical  faction  South,  and  of  the  no 
less  disunion  radical  faction  l^sTorth,  and  the  bloody  civil  war, 
and  the  hideous  desolation  they  have  brought  upon  the  na- 
tion, answer.  Let  that  bitter  mockery  of  a  republican  form 
of  government,  which  now  exists  at  the  national  capital, 
answer.  Let  the  paralyzed  industry  of  six  millions  of  Amer- 
ican citizens  in  time  of  profound  peace,  and  the  military 
satraps  who  rule  them  by  martial  laws,  reply.  Let  the  sacri- 
legious prohibitions  against  divine  worship  throughout  the 
South,  unless  conjoined  with  politics,  respond.  Let  the  an- 
nual decimation  of  the  freedmen  of  the  South,  from  starva- 
tion and  exposure,  tell  us.  Let  the  small  army  of  govern- 
ment contractors  and  partisans,  with  their  thousands  of  mil- 
lions of  untaxable  government  securities,  and  paid  for  by  the 
hard  earnings  and  the  high  taxes  of  the  poor  man,  rejoin. 

Li  the  terrible  struggle  which  has  so  recently  afflicted 
our  land,  the  mad  fanatics  of  the  South  who  commenced  hos- 
tilities, and  urged  their  countrymen  to  battle,  are  guilty  of 
the  greatest  crimes ;  but  no  less  guilty  are  the  Puritanical 
fanatics  of  'New  England,  who  have  systematically  goaded 
them  on  to  this  state  of  bitterness  and  frenzy.  Had  that 
mutual  forbearance  and  conciliation  obtained,  which  was 
taught  by  Washington  and  his  compatriots,  as  well  as  by 
Jackson,  Clay,  and  Webster,  and  had  words  of  kindness  and 
fraternity  been  spoken  and  written  instead  of  those  of  passion 
and  bitterness,  all  national  and  State  evils  would  have  been 
gradually  and  safely  corrected,  and  true  Christian  civiliza- 
tion would  have  progressed  rather  than  have  declined.  If 
the  example  of  the  Saviour  had  been  followed,  of  gradually 
educating  individuals  up  to  the  proper  standard  of  Christian 
love  and  morality,  abuses  would  have  been  spontaneously 
corrected,  and  j)eace  and  harmony  would  ever  have  pre- 
vailed. 


PUEITANISM  m   THE   UNITED   STATES.  433 

It  was  a  sad  hour  wlicn  our  liappy  country  was  left  with- 
out a  single  statesman ;  a  sad  hour  when  the  last  great  states- 
men and  patriots  of  America,  Clay  and  Webster,  were  sum- 
moned from  the  earth;  a  sad  hour  when  sectional  dema- 
gogues and  Puritanical  fanatics  seized  the  reins  of  power, 
and  ruled  the  destinies  of  the  nation. 

If  it  be  ur(ved  tliat  all  this  fraternal  strife  and  blood- 
shed  has  resulted  in  the  abolition  of  slavery,  we  reply  that 
forcible  and  abrupt  abolition  is  synonymous  with  extermina- 
tion. Facts  demonstrate  that  nearly  one-fourth  part  of  the 
liberated  negroes  have  died  from  exposure,  hunger,  and  dis- 
ease within  the  past  six  years,  while  the  remaining  portion 
are  so  demoralized,  ignorant,  and  helpless,  that  a  few  genera- 
tions will  extinguish  them.  This  may  be  regarded  by  North- 
ern Christians  as  philanthropy^  but  the  verdict  of  posterity 
will  be  harharism.  In  the  terrible  contest  [N'orthern  passion 
has  triumj^hed  over  Southern  passion,  and  the  South  is  now 
crushed  and  bruised  under  the  savage  and  .vengeful  heel  of 
the  North ;  but  the  same  elements  of  hatred  and  strife  are 
still  dormant,  and  will  burst  forth  again  at  no  distant  day. 
As  hatred  and  vindictiveness  always  generate  their  like 
whenever  indulged  in  by  individuals  or  communities,  so  do 
the  results  always  correspond.  Strike  and  mutilate  an 
enemy  already  under  your  feet,  yet  a  day  of  retribution  may 
come. 

We  commend  to  these  self-styled  "  loyalists,"  these  self- 
constituted  guardians  of  j^nblic  morals,  these  military  dis- 
pensers of  political,  social,  moral,  and  religious  codes  to 
sovereign  States,  these  monopolizers  of  "  great  moral  ideas," 
the  following  pertinent  quotation  from  Christ's  sermon  upon 
the  mount :  "  Judge  not,  that  ye  be  not  judged.  For  with 
what  judgment  ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged;  and  with  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again.  And 
why  beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy  brother's  eye, 
but  considerest  not  the  beam  that  is  in  thine  own  eye  ?  Or 
how  wilt  thou  say  to  thy  brother.  Let  me  pull  out  the  mote 
out  of  thine  eye;  and,  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye? 
19 


434  CHRISTIANITY    AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

Thou  hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye, 
and  then  thou  shalt  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  out  of 
thy  brother's  eye. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth :  but  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  re- 
sist not  evil;  but  whosoever  shall  smite  thee  on  thy  right 
cheek,  turn  to  him  the  other  also. 

"  Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love 
thy  neighbor,  and  hate  thine  enemy:  but  I  say  unto  you, 
LoA'e  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully 
use  you  and  persecute  you. 

"  Blessed  are  the  merciful,  for  they  shall  obtain  mercy. 
Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the 
children  of  God. 

"  Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the 
prophets." 

We  especially  commend  these  divine  sentiments  to  those 
belligerent  parsons  who  have  converted  their  pulpits,  during 
the  past  six  years,  into  political  and  partisan  tribunes,  from 
whence  they  have  appealed  to  the  worst  passions  of  their 
hearers,  and  urged  them  on  to  hatred  and  war  against  their 
erring  brethren. 

It  must  be  evident  to  all  impartial  observers,  that  the  ex- 
treme measures  which  have  recently  been  consummated  by 
the  dominant  party  of  the  United  States  against  the  Consti- 
tution and  the  integrity  of  the  Union,  as  well  as  against  the 
vanquished  section,  are  legitimate  fruits  of  the  Puritan  sys- 
tem. The  origin  and  character  of  the  leading  actors,  as  well 
as  their  opinions  and  actions,  indicate  the  sources  and  foun- 
tains from  whence  the  inspiration  has  been  derived. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

PURITANISM    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 
Influence  on  the  Hellgioiis  Sentiment, 

TnE  world  is  full  of  skepticism.  All  the  tendencies  of 
the  age  incline  in  this  direction.  Throughout  Christendom 
men  of  the  highest  genius  are  continually  devoting  their 
talents  and  their  energies  to  throw  discredit  upon  the  Holy- 
Scriptures,  to  inculcate  doubts  respecting  the  miracles  of 
Christ  and  His  apostles,  and  to  subordinate  all  religion  to 
the  test  of  inductive  philosophy.  The  natural  inclinations 
of  men  are  opposed  to  every  thing  which  stands  in  the  way 
of  self-indulgence ;  and  Avhen  the  instinctive  proj^ensities 
have  full  sway,  they  invariabl}-  lead  to  infidelity  and  irreli- 
gion.  Innumerable  facts  illustrative  of  this  j^osition  may  be 
found  in  all  ages  of  the  world. 

Since  the  Christian  era  the  same  natural  tendencies  have 
existed,  but,  up  to  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  they  were 
held  in  check  by  the  discipline,  the  restraints,  and  the  graces 
of  the  Catholic  Church. 

Since  the  Reformation  the  world  has  been  advancing 
steadily  toward  that  condition  of  religious  skepticism  and 
irreligion  which  existed  in  the  Roman  empire  at  the  birth  of 
the  Saviour.  Under  the  convenient  pretext  of  freedom  of 
conscience,  men  have  erected  their  own  private  standards  of 
religious  faith,  and,  by  corrupt  interpretations  of  Holy  "Writ, 
liave  endeavored  to  brins:  down  the  sacred  truths  of  Christ 


436  CnEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

to  a  level  with  these  various  and  conflicting  individual  in- 
ventions. As  generation  after  generation  has  appeared  and 
disappeared,  creeds  and  sects  have  multiplied,  men  of  genius 
and  talent  have  entered  the  arena  as  controversialists,  and 
founders  of  new  hypotheses  and  new  doctrines  have  been 
brouo-ht  into  the  contest,  so  that  all  children  born  of  Prot- 
estant  parents  have  literally  been  at  the  mercy  of  eloquent 
sectaries. 

Fair  examples  of  the  general  tendencies  of  the  religious 
sentiment  of  the  present  day  may  be  found  in  the  writings 
of  Strauss  and  his  fellow-Materialists  of  Germany,  Renan 
and  his  fellow-Rationalists  of  France,  and  Parker  and  his 
fellow  Unitarians  and  Universalists  of  North  America.  The 
object  of  Strauss  and  his  friends  is  to  overthrow  the  entire 
Christian  system  established  by  Jesus ;  while  Renan  and 
Parker  virtually  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  acce23t  only 
such  portions  of  the  Christian  system  as  square  with  their 
own  peculiar  theories.  The  works  of  these  writers  are  ably 
written,  and  abound  in  novel  and  interesting  facts.  They 
are  thus  calculated  to  captivate  the  unwary,  to  convince  the 
wavering  and  credulous  by  learned  sophistries,  and  to  under- 
mine the  very  foundations  of  the  Christian  faith.  We  re- 
gard the  writings  of  these  gentlemen  as  far  more  dangerous 
than  those  of  avowed  atheists,  because  their  attacks  are  more 
insidious,  and  more  replete  with  sophistries  and  apparent  re- 
gard for  Christianity. 

In  contemplating  the  standards  of  civilization  adopted  by 
modern  Puritans  and  Rationalists,  their  contempt  for  the 
spiritual  and  moral  element,  and  their  exaltation  of  material- 
ism, we  may  understand  why  the  religious  sentiment  has  be- 
come so  debased  in  the  United  States,  and  why  the  mass  of 
the  people  regard  with  approbation  any  injustice  which  may 
be  perpetrated  against  those  who  are  opposed  to  them  in  re- 
ligion or  politics.  A  certain  religious,  moral,  industrial,  and 
political  theory  has  been  introduced  by  the  combined  forces 
of  New  England  Puritanism  and  Rationalism,  and  nearly 
all  previous  ideas  of  religion,  morals,  and  government,  have 


PURITANISM   m    THE    UNITED    STATES.  437 

been  set  aside  to  make  way  for  the  novel  and  "  progressive  " 
hypotheses.  ,^ 

A  casual  examination  of  the  present  religious  Sentiment 
of  the  United  States  will  astonish  and  sadden  tlie  Christian 
observer,  in  consequence  of  the  almost  infinite  diversity  of 
doctrines,  sects,  and  forms  of  worship  which  he  will  every- 
where find.  This  lack  of  religious  unity  is  almost  universal 
among  Protestants.  IlDlbrtunately  for  Christianity,  these 
religious  diversities  have  generated  and  developed  numerous 
phases  of  skepticism  and  irreligion.  Under  the  sanction  of 
the  fallacious  and  highly  mischievous  Protestant  idea  that 
every  individual,  however  stupid,  ignorant,  vicious,  or  erratic 
he  may  chance  to  be,  is  competent  to  analyze  and  interpret 
the  sacred  mysteries  of  Holy  Writ,  Protestant  America  has 
been  split  np  into  thousands  of  conflicting  and  semi-hostile 
sects.  These  subdivisions  pervade  towns,  villages,  parishes, 
and  families.  Wherever  a  dozen  Protestants  are  congrega- 
ted, scarcely  two  of  them  coincide  in  opinion,  or  seek  the 
same  church.  Enter  the  family  circle,  and  you  often  find  the 
same  conflict  respecting  religious  faith  and  worship,  and  a 
continual  clashing  of  views  in  the  rearing  and  education  of 
children.  With  such  examples  of  religious  discord  and  vari- 
ation, it  is  not  strange  that  such  multitudes  of  the  rising 
generation  are  engulfed  in  the  depths  of  infidelity. 

Under  the  name  of  Rationalism,  many  forms  of  skepticism 
have  been  established  throughout  the  United  States.  Every 
one  of  these  Rationalists  denies  every  thing  in  the  Scriptures 
which  does  not  coincide  with  reason  and  natural  logic.  Un- 
der the  inspiration  of  the  Puritan  catch-words,  "  liberty  of 
thought,"  and  "  freedom  of  conscience,"  millions  have  rushed 
with  reckless  indifierence  into  the  numerous  skeptical  and 
irreligious  organizations  of  the  day. 

Unity  of  faith  is  a  fundamental  principle  of  true  Christi- 
anity. Our  Divine  Master  insisted  upon  tlie  importance  of 
this  principle,  and,  in  order  that  it  should  not  be  violated, 
the  Christian  flock  was  commanded  to  be  obedient  to  their 
shepherds  and  pastors,  as  an  integral  part  of  the  universal 


438  CHEISTIANITY   A^D   ITS    COiTTLICTS. 

Churcli.  The  disciples  were  informed  that  false  teachers 
should  arise  with  new  and  strange  doctrines,  but  they  were 
earnestly  cautioned  against  them,  and  urged  to  remain  with- 
in the  one  fold,  under  their  divinely-ai^pointed  teachers  and 
shepherds.  A  contemplation  of  these  simple  facts  and  in- 
junctions, and  of  the  endless  variations  of  the  sects,  must 
fill  the  minds  of  all  real  Christians  with  sadness. 

In  order  to  demonstrate  the  fearful  results  of  the  Puritan 
system  in  America,  we  have  endeavored  to  bring  together, 
in  a  brief  tabular  form,  the  numbers  and  present  status  of 
the  Atheists,  Deists,  Skeptics,  Rationalists,  Spiritualists,  Uni- 
versalists.  Unitarians,  Jews,  etc.,  of  the  United  States.  Much 
time  and  trouble  have  been  expended  in  order  to  procure 
reliable  and  accurate  data  on  which  to  base  our  statistical 
arrangement,  but  we  have  found  the  task  difficult,  and  in 
some  respects  far  from  satisfactory.  Enough,  however,  has 
been  accomplished  to  enable  us  to  approximate  very  closely 
to  the  numbers  of  the  various  classes  which  we  have  enumer- 
ated. Absolute  accuracy  has  been  impossible  ;  but  we  have 
consulted  many  of  the  leading  and  most  reliable  men  of  each 
class,  and  have  examined  such  statistical  facts  as  we  could 
procure,  and  thus  endeavored  to  arrive  at  correct  results. 

ISTearly  all  these  skeptical  sects  are  the  direct  offspring  of 
Puritanism,  as  we  have  before  demonstrated.  This  is  appar- 
ent from  the  fact  that  there  were  but  few  religious  skeptics 
in  the  world  previous  to  the  Reformation.  Since  the  Refor- 
mation, wherever  the  Puritan  system  has  had  sway,  all  forms 
of  infidelity  have  made  rapid  progress.  The  inference,  there- 
fore, is  irresistible,  that  wherever  the  seeds  of  this  system 
have  been  jilanted,  a  good  proportion  of  the  harvest  has 
always  been  gathered  by  those  who  are  opposed  to  Chris- 
tianity. 

Spiritualists. 

The  following  startling  facts  were  presented  to  the  pub- 
lic more  than  three  years  ago,  in  "  The  Plain  Guide  to  Spir- 
itualism," by  Uriah  Clark  :  "  There  are  now  in  America  five 


PURITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES.  439 

himdred  public  mediums  who  receive  visitors  constantly  or 
occasionally ;  and  more  than  fifty  thousand  mediums  who 
arc  reliable  in  select  circles,  but  not  before  the  public.  About 
one  hundred  periodicals  have  been  devoted  wholly  or  in  part 
to  the  propagation  and  exposition  of  Spiritualism,  most  of 
which  were  designed  to  have  only  a  temporary  mission. 
More  than  five  hundred  books  and  pamphlets  have  been  cir- 
culated, and  many  of  them  are  still  liaving  an  extensive  sale. 
There  are  five  hundred  speakers  who  are  considered  especial 
public  advocates,  while  there  are  more  than  one  thousand 
who  are  regarded  as  only  occasional  advocates.  Nearly  two 
thousand  places  are  open  for  public  circles,  conferences,  or 
lectures,  and  in  many  places  there  are  flourishing  Sunday- 
schools.  The  decisive  believers  number  about  two  millions, 
while  the  nominal  ones  are  nearly  five  millions.  On  the 
Eastern  Continent  the  number  may  be  reckoned  as  one  mil- 
lion. The  whole  number  now  on  the  globe,  supposed  to 
recognize  the  fact  of  spiritual  intercourse,  cannot  fall  short 
of  twenty  millions," 

In  a  letter  to  a  friend,  dated  September  V,  18C6,  J.  II. 
W.  Tookey,  one  of  the  most  respectable  and  truthful  spirit- 
ualists of  the  country,  writes,  "  that  these  statistics  were 
given  to  the  public  three  years  ago,  and  should  be  enlarged 
by  an  additional  third.'''*  This  gentleman  also  observes, 
"that  hundreds  of  thousands  meet  and  mingle  with  the  com- 
municants of  churches  for  the  support  of  '  liberal  Christian- 
ity,' whose  opinions,  beliefs,  and  philosophies  are  spiritual- 
istic. More,  in  most  cases  they  are  known  Spiritualists — 
members  of  Spiritual  circles,  and,  as  such,  opposed  to  the  the- 
ology of  the  churches  /  and  yet,  because  of  Sunday  and  fam- 
ily associations,  it  would  be  deemed  scandalous  on  the  part 
of  any  statistician  to  classify  them  among  the  Spiritualists." 

We  have  conversed  with  many  educated  and  intelligent 
Spiritualists  upon  this  subject,  and  their  ojiinions  coincide 
fully  with  those  we  have  cited.  They  assure  us  that  the 
statements  and  calculations  of  these  gentlemen  are  helow 
rather  than  above  tlic  actual  mark.     We  are  likewise  assured 


440  CHEISTIAKITT   Aim   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

that  the  Spiritualistic  churches  for  the  propagation  of  "  lib- 
eral Christianity,"  and  the  schools  for  the  training,  educating, 
and  rearing  of  children  in  accordance  with  this  "  reformed 
religion  "  of  the  nineteenth  century,  have  increased  vastly 
during  the  past  three  years.  Books,  pamplilets,  journals, 
catechisms,  and  articles  of  faith,  have  multiplied  enormously 
v/ithin  the  past  few  years,  and  the  church  and  school  organi- 
zations are  now  in  the  highest  degree  efficient  and  progres- 
sive. In  their  schools  esj)ecially,  admirable  classifications 
have  been  adoj^ted,  with  a  view  of  attracting,  interesting, 
and  converting  the  rising  generation  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
conditions.  Eloquence,  poetry,  and  music,  are  all  brought 
into  requisition  to  captivate  the  j^liant  minds  of  the  young, 
and  to  indoctrinate  them  with  the  "reformed  "  and  "  liberal " 
ideas  of  the  new  theology.  Great  numbers  of  men  and  wo- 
men of  high  positions,  and  of  intellectual  culture  and  refine- 
ment, openly  profess  the  new  doctrines,  and  exert  their  influ- 
ence and  talents  in  disseminating  them.  ..The  novelty  and 
excitement  which  formerly  attracted  general  attention  to 
the  new  system  has  passed  away ;  but  under  the  influence 
of  numerous  and  various  organizations  throughout  the  Uni- 
ted States,  the  sect  is  making  very  great  progress. 

Taking  the  statements  we  have  cited  as  the  basis  of  our 
calculation,  we  are  justified  in  presenting  the  following  sum- 
mary : 

1863. — 500  public  mediums;  50,000  reliable  mediums  in 
select  circles ;  500  public  sj^eakers;  1,000  occasional  advo- 
cates ;  2,000,000  of  decisive  believers ;  5,000,000  of  nominal 
believers ;  2,000  places  for  public  circles,  conferences,  and 
lectures  ;  numerous  j)ublic  schools. 

If  we  add  to  these  numbers  the  increase  of  the  one-third 
which  is  claimed  during  the  last  three  years,  the  calculation 
stands  thus : 

1863.  1867. 

Public  mediums. . .  500.     Public  mediums. . .  6G6. 

Private  mediums . .      50,000.     Private  mediums..      66,666. 


PUKITANISM  IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  441 

1863.  1867. 

Public  speakers. ...           500.  Public  speakers. ...           666. 

Occasional  speakers        1,000.  Occasional  speakers        1,333. 

Decisive  believers  .2,000.000.  Decisive  believers  .2,660,000. 

Nominal  believers  .5,000,000.  Nominal  believers  .6,333,000. 

Places   of  public  Places   of   public 

worship 2,000.         worship 2,666. 

Sunday-schools numerous.  Sunday-schools. . . .  numerous. 

According  to  this  estimate,  the  number  of  believers  in 
Spiritualism  in  the  United  States  at  the  present  time  is  more 
than  six  millions^  and  the  number  of  active  partisans  nearly 
three  millions !  From  the  old,  the  middle-aged,  and  the 
young  of  all  sexes  and  conditions,  this  sect  is  everywhere 
receiving  large  additions,  and  threatens  ere  long  to  occupy 
a  leading  position  among  the  conflicting  sects  of  this  creed- 
cursed  and  sect-cursed  country.  We  have  already  referred 
briefly  to  the  tenets  of  modern  Spiritualism — to  its  insidious 
sophistries,  its  maxims  of  philosophy,  morals,  and  society, 
its  indulgent  princijoles,  its  humanitarianism  and  socialism, 
its  appeals  to  the  emotions  and  passions,  its  cultivation  oi 
eloquence,  poetry,  music ;  and,  overtopping,  overshadowing^ 
and  subordinating  all  these  minor  elements  of  the  system, 
we  have  alluded  to  its  vital  and  universal  dogma  which  de- 
nies the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  the  principal  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  That  the 
object  of  Spiritualism  is  to  undermine  and  overthrow  the 
New  Law  which  Jesus  gave  to  mankind,  admits  of  no  doubt. 
The  doctrines  inculcated  by  all  their  mediums,  their  pub- 
lications, and  their  chief  partisans,  demonstrate  this  momen- 
tous fact. 

Atheists^  Deists^  Rationalists^  Infidels,  SJcej^tics,  etc. 

It  is  now  generally  conceded  that  there  are  a  greater 

number  of  infidels  in  the  United  States  than  in  any  other 

country.     Go  where  we  may,  in  city  or  country,  among  the 

rich  or  the  poor,  the  educated  or  the  illiterate,  we  meet  at 

19* 


4tl:2  CHEISTIANITT   AKD    ITS   CONFLICTS. 

every  step  men  who  deny  the  existence  of  a  God,  or  the 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  or  a  future  spirit-world,  or  some 
vital  portion  of  the  Christian  system.  This  religious  skepti- 
cism is  so  wide-spread,  and  so  generally  diffused  throughout 
the  various  ramifications  of  society,  even  among  those  who 
ostensibly  belong  to  the  sects,  as  to  threaten  seriously  the 
ultimate  domination  of  Christianity  itself  in  the  United  States. 
We  have  already  referred  to  some  of  the  causes  of  this  alarm- 
ing decline  in  the  religious  sentiment.  These  causes  are  more 
numerous  and  potent  at  the  present  time  than  at  any  other 
period  since  the  commencement  of  our  era.  What  are  they  ? 
The  innumerable  and  ever-varying  sects,  all  of  them  based 
upon  the  untenable  dogmas  of  Calvinism  or  Lutheranism,  the 
continual  appearance  of  well-written,  insidious,  and  skeptical 
books  like  those  of  Strauss,  Renan,  Parker,  Buckle,  Lecky,  etc., 
and  the  almost  universal  predominance  in  society  of  material 
prosperity,  and  its  attendant  luxuries,  over  the  spiritual  ele- 
ment.  Nearly  all  the  thoughts,  the  efforts,  and  the  aspira- 
tions of  the  men  of  the  United  States  pertain  to  this  world 
and  its  temporary  enjoyments,  while  those  spiritual  things 
which  j)re23are  the  soul  for  a  future  existence  are  practically 
ignored  and  neglected. 

Having  no  organized  societies,  no  associations,  and  but 
few  publications,  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  correct  idea  of 
the  number  of  skeptics  in  the  United  States.  Under  such 
circumstances,  we  can  only  form  an  approximate  estimate, 
by  collecting  and  comparing  the  opinions  of  many  judicious 
statisticians,  writers,  and  thinkers,  who  have  given  attention 
to  the  subject.  If  we  go  into  all  classes  of  society,  and  can- 
vass the  opinions  of  those  we  meet,  it  will  probably  be  found 
that  about  eight  per  cent,  of  them  will  prove  to  be  skej^tics. 
According  to  this  calculation,  the  number  now  in  the  United 
States  may  be  reckoned  at  about  2,000,000.  Some  have 
placed  the  number  as  high  as  3,000,000;  others  as  low  as 
1,000,000.  Our  own  opinion  is  that  the  number  may  be 
fairly  placed  at  2,000,000. 


PDKITANISM    IN   THE    UNITED    STATES.  443 

Unitarians. 

No  just  estimate  can  be  formed  of  the  number  of  Unita- 
rians in  the  United  States  from  the  number  of  their  churches 
and  societies,  because  they  regard  churches,  creeds,  and  church 
governuient,  as  of  little  account.  As  a  sect,  they  have  no 
unity  of  faith,  and  no  settled  form  of  doctrine  ;  but  they  re- 
gard morality  and  g  ood  works  as  the  principal  elements  of 
happiness,  both  in  this  world  and  in  the  world  to  come.  In 
literary  culture,  refinement,  morality,  and  in  nearly  all  of 
those  qualities  which  pertain  to  the  model  citizen,  the  Unita- 
rians, as  a  body,  have  no  superiors.  They  are  jealous  of 
churcli  organizations,  articles  of  faith,  and  disciplinary  regu- 
lations, on  account  of  their  supposed  tendency  to  curtail  pro- 
gressive development  and  religious  liberty.  They  have  a 
mortal  aversion  to  what  they  regard  as  organized  priestcraft, 
and  for  this  reason  but  few  of  them  ever  unite  with  or  fre- 
quent churches.  Probably  not  one  in  ten  enters  a  church 
from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  But  it  must  not  be  inferred 
from  this  that  they  are  immoral,  or  violators  of  the  ordinary 
proprieties  which  belong  to  the  Sabbath.  In  making  \\\)  our 
statistics,  therefore,  we  have  been  obliged  to  rely  uj^on  the 
opinions  of  judicious  and  reliable  individuals,  rather  than 
upon  the  number  of  church  edifices  and  actual  communicants. 
In  this  manner  Vv'e  believe  that  we  have  made  a  fair  approxi- 
mation to  the  correct  figures. 

In  1850,  according  to  *  the  "Christian  Register,"  there 
were  236  Unitarian  societies  in  America.  Another  authority 
places  the  number  at  243.  Allowing  100  members  to  each 
church  and  also  for  the  increase  up  to  the  present  time,  we 
have  at  least  243,000  church-goers.  It  may  be  assumed  that 
the  number  in  no  way  connected  with  the  churches  is  not 
less  than  300,000.  From  these  data,  the  number  of  Unita- 
rians in  the  United  States  is  about  543,000. 

Universallsts. 

Like  the  Unitarians,  the  Universallsts  deny  the  divinity 
of  Jesus  Christ.     They  also  deny  the  personality  of  the  Holy 


^14:  CHETSTIANITT  AKD   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

Spirit,  and  the  existence  of  a  future  state  of  punishment — 
hokling  that  all  sins  are  punished  in  this  world.  Believing 
that  the  commission  of  every  sin  entails  its  specific  punish- 
ment here  below  and  that  every  virtue  receives  its  due  reward, 
they  avoid  sin,  and  are  moral  as  a  matter  of  calculation  and 
worldly  prudence.  This  sect  holds  churches  and  church  gov- 
ernments in  still  less  estimation  than  the  Unitarians.  As  a 
consequence,  it  is  probable  that  not  one  in  twenty  ever  en- 
ters a  church,  or  contributes  to  sustain  one. 

According  to  the  census  of  1850,  there  were  494  Univer- 
salist  churches  in  the  United  States.  Conceding  one  hundred 
members  to  each  one,  we  have  494,000  in  1850.  If  we  add 
to  this  number  the  increase  up  to  the  present  time,  and  the 
probable  number  of  believers  outside  of  the  church  organiza- 
tions, the  aggregate  number  will  exceed  1,000,000. 

Jews. 

Seventeen  years  ago  the  Jews  of  the  United  States  num- 
bered more  than  100,000.  Since  1850  they  have  increased 
with  great  rapidity,  in  consequence  of  the  perfect  toleration 
which  exists  here,  and  their  excellent  position  politically, 
socially,  and  commercially.  Judicious  men  have  estimated 
the  number  of  Jews  now  residing  in  the  United  States  at 
500,000.  Their  numbers  cannot  be  estimated  from  the  num- 
ber of  their  synagogues,  because  they  are  so  widely  dis- 
persed throughout  the  States,  as  traders  and  speculators,  that 
they  rarely  combine  under  society  organizations.  The  num- 
ber of  Jews  at  present  residing  in  the  United  States  in  all 
probability  exceeds  500,000.  A  gentleman  of  this  city,  who 
has  devoted  special  attention  to  the  subject  for  many  years, 
w^rites  as  follows :  "  There  are  about  a  million  and  a  half  of 
Jews  in  the  United  States  at  the  j^resent  time.  The^  are 
one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  in  'New  York  city — 85,000 
who  call  themselves  Jews,  and  25,000,  who  are  Jews  but  call 
themselves  Americans."  This  gentleman  states  that  there 
are  but  few  Jews  in  New  England,  as  they  have  found  it 
utterly  impossible  to  compete  with  tlie  Yankees.     Many  at- 


PL'EITANISM   IN   THE    UiNITED    STATES.  445 

tempts  have  been  made  by  this  peculiar  people  to  ply  their 
commercial  avocations  among  the  descendants  of  tlie  Puri- 
tans, but  they  have  generally  been  obliged  to  abandon  the 
field  in  poverty  and  disgust.  For  the  most  part  they  are  to 
be  found  in  the  Middle,  Western,  and  Southern  States.  In 
1860  there  were  seventy-six  synagogues  in  the  United  States, 
accommodating  34,012  persons.  "VYe  make  a  very  low  esti- 
mate in  plaoing  the  number  at  500,000. 

Nummary, 

Spiritualists 6,333,000 

Unitarians 543,000 

Universalists 1,000,000 

Jews 500,000 

Infidels  and  Skeptics 2,000,000 


10,376,000 


Here  we  have  a  grand  total  of  more  than  ten  millions  of 
people  in  the  United  States  who  deny  the  divinity  of  Jesus 
Christ !  Of  an  entire  population  of  about  thirty-three  mil- 
lion inhabitants,  nearly  one-third  of  them  are  professed 
skeptics  !  One  of  the  most  alarming  features  of  tliis  decline 
of  the  religious  sentiment  consists  in  the  fact  that  this  skep- 
tical clement  includes  vast  numbers  of  the  most  talented,  the 
most  highly  educated,  and  the  most  distinguished  men  in 
politics,  law,  literature,  commerce,  and  general  society. 
Their  eloquent  voices  are  contiiuially  heard  in  our  legislative 
assemblies,  pulpits,  lecture-rooms,  courts,  and  in  some  of  our 
institutions  of  learning.  Their  productions  are  constantly 
seen  in  the  most  influential  journals  of  the  nation,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  latter  receive  their  sole  inspiration  and  direction 
from  them.  In  society  their  rank  is  inferior  to  that  of  no 
other  class  of  the  community. 

In  possession  of  these  numerous  and  powerful  advantages, 
their  numbers  are  increasinor  in  all  directions,  and  with  ijreat 
raj^idity.     Twenty  years  ago,  Spiritualism  did  not  exist  in 


446  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

America ;  now  there  are  six  millio^is  of  them.  Twenty  years 
ago,  if  a  man  had  risen  up  in  a  public  convention  of  minis- 
ters and  impiously  proposed  to  designate  the  Saviour  as  Mr. 
Jesus  Christ,  or  Jesus  Christ,  Esq.,  he  would  have  been 
frowned  upon  with  horror  and  indignation  by  the  entire  na- 
tion ;  but  in  1863,  in  Hope  Chapel,  in  the  great  city  of  IsTew 
York,  this  terrible  blasphemy  was  committed  in  the  presence 
of  hundreds  of  clergymen  and  prominent  citizens,  with 
scarcely  an  exclamation  of  surprise  or  reproof;  and  the  read- 
ing public  perused  the  blasj^hemous  observations  in  the  daily 
papers  with  indifference,  and,  in  many  instances,  with  ap- 
proval. Could  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  of  Jerusalem,  or 
the  pagans  of  the  Caesars  have  offered  a  greater  insult  ? 

So  degraded  has  the  religious  and  moral  sentiment  of  the 
public  become,  and  so  shameless  are  the  masses  of  the  people, 
that  notorious  inebriates  and  libertines  crowd  the  national 
capital,  and  hold  up  their  heads  among  the  highest  in  Con- 
gress and  in  fashionable  society.  In  our  cities  wealth  alone 
is  the  magic  touchstone  of  respectability  and  social  position. 
Religion,  morality,  and  virtue  are,  for  the  most  part,  sneered 
at  as  antiquated  superstitions,  barriers  to  liberty  of  thought 
and  to  true  progression. 

The  practical  development  of  the  leading  idea  of  Protes- 
tantism, viz.,  private  judgment  in  all  matters  pertaining  to 
religion,  has  undoubtedly  been  the  principal  cause  of  this 
state  of  things.  In  other  words,  the  self-denying  precepts  of 
Christianity  have  been  arrayed  in  contest  against  the  natural 
propensities  and  desires  of  men.  Conscience  has  been  pitted 
against  pride,  passion,  and  sensual  enjoyments  ;  sobriety  and 
self-denial  against  gayety  and  self-indulgence.  Fallen  man 
is  the  actor,  and  he  is  invited  to  decide  between  the  thou- 
sand temptations  of  the  world  and  the  privations  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Christian.  Instinctively  he  appreciates  and 
covets  the  former,  while  the  latter  are  difficult  of  compre- 
hension and  repulsive  to  him.  All  his  natural  inclinations 
woo  and  beckon  him  toward  the  one,  and  repel  him  from  the 
other.     A  perverted  jjublic  sentiment,  held  in  slavish  subjec- 


PURITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED   STATES.  447 

lion  by  a  licentious  press  and  dejDvaA'ed  teachers  encourage 
and  urge  on  the  general  deterioration. 

From  these  facts  it  would  appear  that  the  people  of  this 
country  are  fast  approaching  that  condition  of  materialism 
which  existed  in  Europe  at  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  re- 
public. We  have  pointed  out  many  points  of  resemblance 
between  the  two  peoples  in  a  political  and  social  point  of 
view;  and  all  indications  lead  to  the  inference  that  we  are 
approaching  these  men  of  the  past  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. 

How  can  this  rushing  torrent  of  unbelief  be  arrested? 
How,  but  by  Christian  unity  and  brotherhood?  How,  ex- 
cept under  the  divine  banner  of  one  Universal  Church  ? 
How,  but  by  marshalling  the  entire  Christian  element  in 
concord  and  concert  of  action  against  the  jDOwers  of  discord 
and  irreligion  ?  Were  the  Christians  of  the  world  to  call  a 
grand  council,  send  to  it  their  representative  men,  throw 
aside  all  human  creeds  and  human  religions,  and  place  before 
the  assembly  the  essential  doctrines  taught  by  Jesus  Christ, 
every  sincere  Christian  in  the  universe  could  unite  on  a  com- 
mon platform,  and  every  fundamental  idea  of  the  Catholic 
Church  be  sustained.  Thus  could  a  consolidated  and  invin- 
cible army  of  Christians  be  put  in  the  field,  to  fight  tlie  bat- 
tles of  Christianity  against  the  swarming  hosts  of  unbe- 
lievers which  now  pervade  the  Avorld.  Thus  would  one  of 
the  chief  causes  of  skepticism  be  summarily  stricken  down, 
in  the  fonn  of  sectarian  discord  and  strife. 

No  individual  can  ever  reestablish  the  unity  and  uni- 
versality of  the  Church.  Certain  j)i*imafry  and  fundamental 
data  must  be  conceded,  like  the  divine  foundation  of  a  single 
Church,  with  a  settled  code  of  principles  and  observances 
and  an  ecclesiastical  organization.  It  must  be  conceded  that 
Christ  actually  appointed  the  apostles  as  His  sj^ecial  minis- 
ters to  teach  and  to  joreach  His  doctrines,  and  to  preside 
over  the  sacred  observances  {sacramenta)  Avhich  He  insti- 
tuted. It  must  be  conceded  that  tlie  Saviour  really  did  leave 
behind  Him   certain  definite  precepts,  whicli  are  to  be  ac- 


448  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

cepted  by  all  mankind  without  discussion,  without  criticism, 
without  doubt. 

The  entire  tenor  of  the  Sacred  Writings  renders  these 
facts  so  self-evident  as  to  preclude  the  necessity  of  argument. 
It  only  remains,  then,  to  inquire  whether  all  the  essential 
doctrines  of  Christianity  cannot  be  so  clearly  defined  and 
codified  as  to  enable  the  whole  Christian  world  to  unite  as 
members  of  one  universal  and  harmonious  Church.  We  be- 
lieve that  an  earnest  and  candid  perusal  of  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  and  the  inspired  apostles,  as  we  have  presented  them 
in  the  first  part  of  this  work,  would  furnish  a  theological 
platform  upon  which  all  Christendom  could  stand  in  concord 
and  fraternity.  The  articles  of  Catholic  faith  are  so  simple, 
so  vital,  and  so  entirely  in  consonance  with  Holy  Writ,  as  to 
render  an  efibrt  at  unity  on  the  part  of  Christendom,  emi- 
nently desirable  and  possibly  successful.  We  have  shown 
that  there  are  many  things  pertaining  to  the  Church  which 
are  not  articles  of  CatJioUc  faith,  but  ^natters  of  discipline  ; 
and  that  a  man  may  be  a  good  Catholic  by  adopting  the 
former,  even  if  he  rejects  the  latter.  The  great  theologian, 
Veron,  has  clearly  demonstrated  this  fact  in  his  able  work 
on  "  Catholic  Faith."  Were  a  world's  convention  to  be  con- 
vened, with  a  view  of  uniting  Christendom  under  one  Church 
and  one  theological  creed,  success  might  be  possible  by 
adoj)ting  as  a  basis  of  operation,  the  four  fundamental  divi- 
sions of  Catholicity,  viz.,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, the  Seven  Sacred  Observances  (saanmenta),  and 
the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Without  some  great  and  united  efifort  of  this  kind,  there 
is  danger,  in  view  of  the  rapid  growth  of  materialism,  that 
the  world  will  again  lapse  into  universal  skepticism,  as  it  had 
lapsed  into  polytheism  and  corrupt  Judaism  in  the  days  of 
Christ  ?  Similar  causes  are  now  in  operation  as  existed  then. 
The  same  materialism  dominates  over  the  minds  of  the  men 
of  the  present  epoch,  as  governed  the  Latin,  Greek,  and  Jew- 
ish subjects  of  Tiberius.  The  same  pride  of  intellect,  of  lit- 
erary culture,  and  of  philosophical  knowledge  exists  now  as 


PUEITANISM   IN   THE   UNITED    STATES.  449 

existed  theu.  But  no  efforts,  however  energetic,  can  be  suc- 
cessful in  stemming  the  tide  of  infidelity  which  is  now  flow- 
ing with  such  resistless  impulse  over  the  land,  except  under 
the  unity  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  concert  of  action 
among  Christians.  So  long  as  the  infidel  can  point  to  an  in- 
finite diversity  of  opinions  and  forms  of  worship  among 
Christians,  he  is  armed  with  a  two-edged  sword  against  the 
Christian  system.  So  long  as  he  can  summon  as  witnesses  so 
many  opposing  sects,  each  with  a  peculiar  theological  theory 
and  a  peculiar  mode  of  worship,  he  holds  a  defensible  position. 

M.  Guizot  thus  alludes  to  this  subject :  "  When  men 
deny  the  supernatural  world,  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriji- 
tures,  and  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  really  assail 
the  whole  body  of  Christians — Romanists,  Protestants,  and 
Greeks ;  they  are  virtually  destroying  the  foundations  of 
faith  in  all  the  belief  of  Christians,  Avhatever  their  particular 
difference  of  religious  opinions  or  forms  of  ecclesiastical  gov- 
ernment. .  .  .  When,  then,  the  foundations  of  their  common 
faith  are  attacked,  the  differences  existing  between  Christian 
churches  upon  special  questions,  or  the  diversities  of  their  or- 
ganization or  government,  become  secondary  interests ;  it  is 
from  a  common  peril  that  they  have  to  defend  themselves ; 
or  they  must  reconcile  themselves  to  see  dried  up  the  com- 
mon source  from  which  they  all  derive  sustenance  and  life."  * 

Many  of  the  most  talented  and  earnest  Christians  of  the 
Avorld  regard  with  profound  alarm  the  very  general  tendency 
toward  irreligion.  They  behold  many  of  the  best  intellects 
of  the  age  in  the  ranks  of  rationalism,  struggling  to  over- 
throw Christianity ;  and  their  efforts  to  resist  them,  and  to 
stem  the  increasing  tide  of  unbelief,  have  thus  fiir  been  un- 
successful. Mere  sectarian  organizations,  divided  counsels, 
or  j^ersonal  efforts  have  proved,  and  will  continue  to  j^rove, 
unavailing  in  this  gigantic  contest.  It  is  only  by  unity,  har- 
mony, and  untiring  energy  on  the  part  of  the  followers  of 
Jesus  that  these  anti-Christian  elements  can  be  triumphantly 
overcome. 

*  "  Meditations  on  Christianity,"  p.  x. 


CHAPTEE    XXXIII. 

CENTRES    OF    PUBLIC    SENTIMENT. 

At  all  eras,  and  among  all  nations,  there  liave  existed  a 
few  grand  centres  of  jDublic  sentiment.  From  these  cen- 
tral "nurseries"  all  the  principal  doctrines  pertaining  to 
religion,  morals,  politics,  and  social  order,  have  originated. 
Whenever  these  original  sources  have  been  pure  and  truth- 
ful, the  resulting  fruits  have  been  beneficent  and  salutary ; 
but  when  the  parent  fountains  have  been  corrupt,  the  influ- 
ences emanating  from  them  have  been  productive  of  grave 
evils  throughout  the  entire  fabric  of  society.  Instinctively 
the  masses  look  up  to  those  who  are  superior  in  intellect, 
learning,  and  talent  for  knowledge  and  guidance ;  and  as 
the  gifted  ones  have,  for  the  most  part,  been  connected  with 
public  institutions,  the  public  sentiment  of  the  Cliristian 
world  has  actually  been  formed,  nurtured,  and  developed 
into  practical  operation  by  these  great  national  centres  and 
nurseries  of  opinion.  The  academic  groves  and  lyceums  of 
ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  presided  over  by  the  eloquent  and 
brilliant  followers  of  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle,  were  the 
grand  centres  of  thought,  as  well  as  of  the  practical  theories 
of  these  early  nations.  As  all  these  philosophies  were  false 
and  untenable,  the  societies  founded  upon  them  were,  of  ne- 
cessity, vicious  and  derogatory  to  the  general  welfare.  The 
polytheism,  the  gross  immorality,  and  the  heartless  cruelty 
which  existed  among  these  nations,  are  attributable  to  the 
influences  of  these  intellectual  centres. 


CENTRES  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  451 

When  the  divine  institution  of  Jesus  Christ — tlic  Cath- 
olic Church — became  fairly  established,  nearly  all  the  holy, 
talented,  and  learned  men  of  the  world  became  connected 
with  it,  and  for  a  period  of  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years  it  has  held  the  highest  position  in  Christendom,  as 
a  centre  and  nursery  of  every  thing  pure,  and  good,  and 
true,  pertaining  to  the  religious,  moral,  and  social  condition 
of  mankind.  Founded  by  the  Saviour  Himself,  it  would  be 
sacrilege  to  suppose  that  the  fruits  of  this  sacred  institution 
have  not  been  good.  If,  now  and  again,  the  inner  temples 
have  been  profaned,  and  thorns  have  been  planted  instead  of 
wheat,  those  influences  have  generally  been  of  brief  duration. 
The  bad  seed  has  sometimes  sprung  up  and  threatened  to 
choke  the  wheat,  but  ere  long  the  thorns  have  been  plucked 
up  by  the  roots  and  scattered  to  the  winds. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Luther,  he  was  the  chief  origina- 
tor and  centre  of  Protestant  sentiment  in  German3\  There 
were  other  lesser  centres  of  novel  opinions  and  hypotheses, 
like  Zwinglius,  Melancthon,  Buccr,  Munzer,  Karlstadt,  etc. ; 
but  the  original  innovator,  through  his  boisterous  eloquence, 
and  his  reckless  assertions,  monopolized  by  far  the  greater 
share  of  public  attention.  After  the  death  of  Luther,  the 
University  of  Wittenberg  became  one  of  the  great  centres  of 
public  opinion  in  Germany.  The  men  who  presided  over 
this  institution  were  ambitious,  bold,  energetic,  and  talented. 
Their  doctrines  appealed  to  the  more  ignoble  emotions  and 
sentiments  of  the  heart,  liberated  mankind  from  all  whole- 
some restraints  and  discipline,  and  i:)lunged  society  into  re- 
ligious, moral,  and  political  chaos.  The  source  was  imj^ure 
and  false,  and  the  streams  flowing  from  it  were  blighting, 
disintegrating,  destructive. 

According  to  M.  Guizot,  one  of  the  most  important  cen- 
tres of  public  opinion  in  France  has  been,  and  still  is,  the 
University  of  Paris.  From  its  origin,  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, it  has  played  "  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  the  history 
of  mind  in  France.  .  .  .  The  University  of  Paris  is  associated 
with  the  polic}^  of  kings,  and  with  all  the  struggles  of  the 


452  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

French  clergy  against  the  court  of  Rome,  and  those  of  the 
clergy  agahist  the  temporal  power ;  ideas  developed  them- 
selves, and  doctrines  were  established  in  its  bosom;  and  it 
strove  always  immediately  to  propagate  them  in  the  external 
world."  * 

The  originator  and  manufacturer  of  Protestant  sentiment 
in  Switzerland  during  the  sixteenth  century  was  John  Cal- 
vin. The  masterly  eloquence  and  the  undoubted  literary 
abilities  of  this  talented  man  swayed  the  public  mind  of 
several  of  the  Swiss  cantons  with  absolute  and  dictatorial 
power.  Men  listeued  to  the  eloquent  and  oracular  declara- 
tions of  this  fanatical  innovator  v/ith  rapt  admiration  and 
awe.  The  very  novelty  and  recklessness  of  his  positions  fas- 
cinated them.  In  his  fatalistic  doctrines  they  beheld  a  royal 
road  to  heaven,  an  immunity  from  j)ersonal  responsibility, 
and  from  the  restraints  and  discij)line  which  had  heretolbre 
been  imposed  uj^on  them  by  the  ancient  Church.  Kulers 
and  nobles  accepted  the  new  doctrines  in  order  that  they 
might  enrich  themselves  from  the  possessions  of  the  Church 
under  the  pretext  of  reform ;  and  the  common  people  joined 
in  the  frenzied  excitement  in  order  that  they  might  give 
free  rein  to  their  natural  propensities,  unchallenged  and  un- 
checked by  any  authoritative  ecclesiastical  organization. 

The  Huguenots  of  France  and  the  Puritans  of  England 
derived  their  insj)iration  from  this  personal  centre  of  public 
opinion.  Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  terrible 
fruits  of  this  potent  influence. 

In  the  same  century  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway 
were  subjected  to  Protestant  influence,  under  the  leadership 
of  Gustavus  Vasa  and  a  handful  of  zealous  auxiliaries. 
These  men  derived  their  insjDiration  from  Luther  and  the 
University  of  Wittenberg  ;  and  their  doctrines  were  enforced 
upon  the  simple  and  defenceless  people  of  these  countries  by 
the  sword. 

In  England,  Henry  VIII.  installed  himself  as  the  supreme 
head  and  centre  of  public  opinion.     Aided  by  a  few  unscru- 

*  "History  of  Civilization,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  19. 


CENTRES  OF  TUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  453 

pulous  men,  like  Cranmer  and  Thomas  Cromwell,  this  wicked 
monarch  actually  moulded  and  directed  the  religious  senti- 
ment of  England  during  the  last  years  of  his  reign.  The 
most  exalted  prelates  and  nobles,  the  most  gifted  and  learned 
men  in  the  kingdom,  as  well  as  the  masses  of  the  people, 
were  all  forced  to  accept  the  opinions  which  had  been  manu- 
factured for  them,  to  call  them  religion,  and  to  practise,  live, 
and  die  in  accordance  therewith.  The  daughters  of  this  im- 
pious king,  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  followed  in  his  footsteps, 
each  from  her  own  stand-point,  and  with  results  by  no  means 
flattering  to  the  independence  or  manhood  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxon. 

Under  the  Tudors  the  Puritan  element  endeavored  to  ob- 
tain a  foothold  in  England,  but  without  success.  The  peo- 
ple could  be  driven  by  the  sharp  swords  of  Henry  and  Eliza- 
beth into  the  Anglican  establishment,  but  they  detested 
cant,  and  scorned  to  be  brought  under  the  Puritan  yoke. 

Later,  w^hen  Cromv/ell  seized  the  helm  of  government, 
and  surrounded  himself  with  an  army  of  fanatical  Round- 
heads, he  endeavored  to  sway  and  direct  the  religious,  polit- 
ical, and  social  sentiment  of  England.  For  a  brief  j)eriocl, 
tlirough  the  direct  aid  of  his  fierce  soldiers  and  partisans,  he 
became  the  great  centre  and  fountain  of  public  opinion ;  but 
the  natural  instincts  of  the  true  Briton  speedily  revealed 
tliemselves  in  the  form  of  disgust,  dissatisfaction,  and  revolt 
against  the  bold  and  canting  tyrant,  and  his  Puritanical 
schemes  of  cruelty,  oppression,  and  civil  strife.  After  the 
death  of  this  sanguinary  Puritan,  Charles  II.  was  placed 
upon  the  throne  amidst  the  acclamations  of  the  entire  peo- 
ple. A  very  few  years  sufficed  to  convince  the  people  of 
Enoland  of  the  terrible  dang;ers  and  calamities  of  the  Puri- 
tan  system.  Their  experiment  w^ith  Puritanism  was  final  in 
that  direction. 

Within  the  past  century  the  grand  centres  and  nurseries 
of  the  religious  and  moral  sentiment  of  England  have  been 
the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  After  Elizabeth 
had  fully  and  firmly  established  the  Anglican  Church  on  the 


454  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

basis  of  the  Thirty-nine  Articles,  as  altered  and  amended  by 
herself  and  her  ecclesiastical  auxiliaries,  the  governing  influ- 
ence of  the  Church  glided  gradually  and  almost  impercepti- 
bly into  the  two  great  universities  of  the  kingdom.  From 
these  centres  of  learning  have  sprung  the  eminent  theolo- 
gians and  controversialists  who  have  given  shape  and  direc- 
tion to  the  great  public  sentiment  of  the  British  empire. 
The  influences  of  these  accomplished  scholars  have  j)enetra- 
ted  into  every  region  protected  by  the  British  flag,  and  have 
dominated  over  the  minds  and  opinions  of  the  inhabitants. 

In  Scotland  the  Puritan  system  has  always  made  more 
progress  than  in  England,  from  the  fact  that  she  w^as  not  so 
directly  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  central 
power  of  government.  The  Knoxes  and  the  earlier  Hob  Roys 
could  fire  the  j)nblic  heart  of  their  inflammable  countrymen 
with  impunity,  and  urge  on  their  j)artisans  from  their  several 
stand-points  to  disafiection,  discord,  and  fraternal  slaughter. 
For  many  years  these  turbulent  men  were  originators  and 
centres  of  certain  kinds  of  public  sentiment,  each  declaring 
himself  a  humanitarian,  each  struggling  to  emancipate  his 
countrymen  from  the  thraldom  of  existing  laws  and  disci- 
pline, and  each  appealing  to  the  sword  to  enforce  his  peculiar 
doctrines.  If  Knox  and  his  partisans  made  the  longest  and 
the  loudest  prayers,  Rob  and  his  "  merry  men "  gave  the 
most  liberally  to  the  poor,  and  proved  to  be  the  best  practi- 
cal philanthropists. 

In  Ireland  the  chief  centre  of  public  ojDinion  has  ever  been 
the  Universal  Church  and  her  priesthood.  In  the  midst  of 
all  her  dire  oppressions,  in  the  midst  of  long-continued  gov- 
ernmental prohibitions  against  intellectual  culture,  teaching, 
preaching,  and  practising  the  ancient  faith  and  worship,  and 
the  most  grinding  civil  disabilities,  the  faithful  inhabitants 
of  the  Green  Isle  have  always  remained  true  to  their  reli- 
gious principles.  Despised,  down-trodden,  and  degraded 
vassals  of  a  haughty  power,  they  have,  in  thousands  of  in- 
stances, returned  good  for  evil,  by  gloriously  fighting  the 
battles  of  their  oppressors  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  Wherever 


CENTRES  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  455 

British  arms  have  triumphed,  the  Catholic  sons  of  Ireland 
have  always  borne  a  prominent  part.  In  the  hottest  battles 
the  shamrock  has  always  been  seen  in  the  van. 

Since  the  sixteenth  century  every  possible  effort  has  been 
made  by  the  Anglican  establishment  to  keep  and  to  hold  the 
Catholic  priesthood  of  Ireland  in  ignorance  and.  degradation. 
Elsewhere  we  have  alluded  to  the  means  employed  to  accom- 
plish these  ends.  But,  notwithstanding  these  great  national 
persecutions,  and  the  barriers  which  have  been  opposed  to 
education  and  freedom  of  w^orship,  six  millions  of  Irish  Catho- 
lics still  remain  true  to  the  faith  and  the  worship  of  their 
fathers.  They  are  poor,  ignorant,  and  often  destitute  of  the 
necessaries  of  life ;  but  each  one  believes  that  he  possesses  a 
priceless  treasure  in  his  religion,  and  that  it  will  secure  him  an 
eternity  of  bliss  after  his  brief  day  of  probation  and  trouble. 

During  the  first  century  and  a  half  after  the  settlement 
of  tlie  Pilgrims  in  America  almost  the  only  sources  of  public 
sentiment  were  the  pastors. and  congregations  of  the  Calvin- 
istic  churches.  All  the  opinions  and  principles  of  these 
early  colonizers  were  prescribed  by,  and  rendered  subservient 
to,  these  sectarian  organizations.  A  refusal  to  coincide  with 
the  articles  of  fiiith,  the  policy,  and  the  discipline  thus  im- 
posed, invariably  consigned  the  non-conformist  to  political 
and  social  degradation  and  min,  and  not  unfrequently  to 
banishment  and  death.  Whenever  the  Puritan  gospellers 
emigrated  to  other  sections  they  carried  with  them  the  same 
doctrines  and  the  same  policy.  In  this  manner  these  indi- 
viduals in  turn  became  new  centres  and  propagators  of  the 
Puritan  sentiment.  From  the  most  authentic  Protestant 
authorities  we  have  already  detailed  a  few  of  the  baneful 
fruits  of  this  early  civilization.  Among  them  we  find  the 
introduction  into  the  Massachusetts  colony  of  negro  and 
Indian  slaveiy,  savage  persecutions  of  all  opposing  sects,  the 
murder  of  Quakers  and  rej^uted  Avitches  by  hanging  and 
burning,  the  introduction  of  drunkenness  and  the  instigation 
of  bloody  wars  among  the  Indians,  and  the  final  extermina- 
tion of  all  the  Eastern  tribes. 


456  CnEISTlANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

The  Puritans  have  always  professed  to  derive  their  in- 
siDiratioR  from,  and  to  be  governed  by,  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
In  the  mother  country  they  were  persecuted  for  opinion's 
sake,  and  they  bitterly  denounced  these  persecutions  as  a 
violation  of  freedom  of  conscience  and  of  religious  liberty. 
They  claimed  that  the  ISTew  Testament  was  given  to  all  man- 
kind as  the  sole  rule  of  faith,  and  that  each  individual  pos- 
sessed an  inherent  right  to  interpret  and  to  practise  this 
ISTew  Law  in  his  own  way,  unrestrained  by  any  outside  in- 
fluence whatever.     Such  were  their  ostensible  pretexts  when 
they  left  England,  while  they  were  in  Holland,  and  on  their 
arrival  in  America.    With  this  Divine  Standard  as  their  rule 
of  faith  and  of  action,  and  with  such  professedly  enlarged 
ideas  respecting  liberty  of  thought  and  religious  toleration, 
it  might  justly  have  been  expected  that  a  new  paradise  was 
about  to  be  established  in  the  newly  discovered  continent. 
Here  was  a  vast  Christian  home,  to  which  the  023pressed  of 
all  nations  might  come,  and  worship  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  their  hearts;  where  the  missionary  could  find  am- 
ple fields  of  labor  in  the  midst  of  millions  of  simple-minded 
savages,  and  where  a  new  and  mighty  nation  of  red  and 
white  men  could  be  nurtured  and  developed  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  inculcated  by  Christ  in  the  gospel ;  where 
intolerance,  wranglings,  contentions,  persecutions,  and  wars 
should  be  unknown,  and  where  charity,  forbearance,  frater- 
nity, and  peace  should  universally  obtain. 

If  we  hold  the  Puritans  and  their  descendants  up  before 
the  DiAdne  Standard,  they  will  prove  to  have  been  failures. 
In  no  single  particular  have  they  been  followers  or  imitators 
of  Jesus  and  His  apostles.  Trace  the  Puritan  element  in 
America  throu2:hout  all  its  various  ramifications — into  the 
pulpit,  the  seminaries  of  learning,  the  halls  of  legislation,  the 
printing-offices,  and  into  general  society,  and  contrast  the 
teachings  and  the  influences  thus  developed  with  those  of 
the  gospel,  and  we  find  two  opposite  systems  of  civilization. 
From  the  great  organized  centres  of  opinion  to  which  we 
have  alluded  have  sprung  numerous  individual  sub-centres. 


CEiqTEES    OF   PUBLIC    SENTIMENT.  457 

who  proj^agate  within  their  several  spheres  the  opinions  and 
the  influences  derived  from  their  alma  maters.  We  cite  a 
few  individual  types  in  ilhistration  of  the  general  principle. 
We  select  one  among  the  many  men  of  intellect  and  elo- 
quence which  Harvard  has  sent  forth.  With  liigh  literary 
attainments,  superior  talents,  commanding  eloquence,  re- 
markable elegance  as  a  writer,  and  with  unexceptionable 
morals,  this  gentleman  lias  led  the  way  in  shaping  and  de- 
veloping the  public  sentiment  of  the  Xorthern  and  West- 
ern States  during  the  past  six  years.  Through  his  public 
orations,  and  liis  numerous  contributions  to  radical  jour- 
nals, he  has  been  able  to  address  himself  continually  vrith- 
in  the  period  specified  to  more  than  a  million  of  citizens. 
These  partisans  have  listened  with  admiration  and  blind 
faith  to  the  brilliant  harangues  of  this  gifted  orator,  and 
have  perused  his  terse  and  polished  sentences  as  oracular 
truths.  Regarding  the  topics  discussed  from  only  a  single 
stand-point,  imbibing  only  ex  2:)arte  yiQ^%  and  ignoring  every 
thought  and  every  fact  outside  of  the  radical  circle,  this  vast 
number  of  subordinate  minds  have  been  thoroughly  indoc- 
trinated with  the  peculiar  political  opinions  of  their  entlni- 
siastic  leader.  Always  ultra,  but  consistent  in  his  fonaticism ; 
often  plausible,  and  apparently  actuated  by  simple  motives 
of  humanity,  this  gentleman  has  swayed  the  minor  intellects 
within  the  sphere  of  his  influence  with  undisputed  and  dicta- 
torial power.  Whenever  he  has  advanced  a  novel  sentiment, 
however  much  in  violation  of  law,  justice,  morality,  or  mercy, 
his  admirers  have  accepted  it  at  once  as  truth,  and  added  it 
to  their  practical  code  of  life.  If  the  sentiment  has  been  an- 
tagonistic to  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Constitution, 
or  to  law  and  morals,  the  latter  have  been  abandoned  as 
false,  effete,  and  non-obligatory.  For  the  most  part,  this 
eminent  orator  and  writer  has  confined  his  efforts  to  political 
affaii's;  and  his  labors  have  been  fruitful  in  enccendcrinf  sec- 
tional  bitterness,  in  inciting  civil  war,  and  in  bringing  about 
a  dissolution  of  the  Union.  Like  most  of  the  graduates  of 
Harvard,  this  gentleman  denies  the  divinity  of  cur  Saviour, 
20 


458  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

and  suTDorclinates  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  human  hypotheses. 
Standing  on  the  same  religious  platform  with  Theodore 
Parker,  Ealph  Waldo.  Emerson,  and  other  distinguished 
literary  men,  who  regard  Christ  simply  in  the  light  of  a  man 
and  a  proj^het,  he  has  adopted  an  intellectual  standard  of 
religion,  and  of  social  and  political  order,  at  once  narrow, 
sectional,  disintegrating,  and  false.  Had  he  brought  the 
same  amount  of  talent  and  energy  to  bear  upon  religion 
which  he  has  brought  into  the  political  arena,  he  would  have 
been  equally  successful  in  leading  the  credulous  multitude 
into  his  peculiar  theological  views.  In  a  religious  point  of 
view,  nearly  all  the  world  will  admit  that  this  source  and 
fountain  of  opinion  is  false  and  corrupt :  can  the  streams 
emanating  from  them  be  salutary  ?  In  this  type  of  a  modern 
radical  Ave  have  a  man  of  genius  and  learning,  but  one  who 
repudiates  a  fundamental  principle  of  Christianity — the  doc- 
trine of  the  Holy  Trinity;  one  whose  polished  sentences 
might  remind  us  of  a  Pliny  or  a  Tacitus,  but  with  a  philos- 
ophy and  a  theology  as  false  and  untenable  as  were  those  of 
the  accomplished  jDagans  we  have  cited.  Each  of  them  re- 
garded the  Saviour  as  a  man  and  a  visionary  enthusiast,  and 
consequently  ignored  His  teachings,  and  adopted  the  ration- 
alistic hypotheses  of  philosophers  and  professed  humani- 
tarians. Can  just  and  beneficent  principles  proceed  from 
such  centres  of  opinion  ? 

Among  the  chief  personal  centres  of  American  public  sen- 
timent are  the  editors  of  the  more  ultra-radical  journals. 
These  gentlemen  are  for  the  most  part  talented,  liberally 
educated,  accomplished,  and  expert  as  writers,  and  many  of 
them  as  speakers.  The  religious  and  political  opinions  of 
nearly  all  of  them  have  been  implanted  at  Harvard,  Yale, 
Amherst,  Williams,  and  other  New  England  colleges,  and 
time  has  only  had  the  effect  of  intensifying  and  of  practically 
developing  them.  It  is  estimated  that  each  of  these  journals, 
upon  an  average  addresses  daily  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  credulous  partisans,  who  imbibe  its  oracular  asser- 
tions with  unquestioning  and  undoubting  faith.     What  an 


CENTEES  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  459 

enormous  power  for  a  few  individuals  to  w^ield !  What  a 
terrible  responsibility  rests  upon  their  shoulders  touching  the 
proper  use  or  abuse  of  this  vast  intellectual  engine !  Are 
these  gentlemen  safe  originators  and  leaders  of  public  sen- 
timent ?  Do  they  possess  the  qualities  of  mind,  and  the  tem- 
peraments, education,  virtue,  philanthropy,  and  truthfulness 
requisite  to*  mould  and  to  direct  the  oj)inions  of  the  masses 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  subserve  the  general  welfare  ?  Are 
these  partisan  politicians  really  competent  to  act  as  the  polit- 
ical censors  and  directors  of  so  many  millions  of  American 
citizens  ? 

Several  of  the  gentlemen  whom  we  have  presented  as 
personal  types  of  a  class,  are  acquaintances  and  friends  of 
the  writer.  Socially,  and  in  all  the  ordinary  relations  of 
life,  they  are  models  of  excellence.  They  would  serve  a 
friend,  or  succcor  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  needy  with  the 
utmost  alacrity  and  pleasure;  but  as  publicists  they  are 
narrow,  sectional,  partisan,  selfish,  ultra,  and  revolutionary. 
JS'aturally  impulsive,  sympathetic,  generous,  and  kind,  they 
expend  all  their  better  emotions  and  affections  upon  those 
in  immediate  rapport  w^ith  them,  while  all  the  brethren 
outside  of  the  charmed  circle  are  doomed  to  receive  upon 
their  devoted  heads  whatever  remains  in  them  of  the  old 
Adam.  Had  these  gentlemen  first  drawn  breath  in  the  South 
instead  of  the  North,  the  conquered  section  would  now  have 
contained  several  additional  rebels — unrepentant,  unpardon- 
ed, uncompromising,  and  revolutionary.  In  all  ages  and  in 
all  countries  men  have  ever  been  the  creatures  of  circum- 
stances surrounding  them.  Present  associations,  sympathies, 
affections,  and  early  education,  have  always  moulded  and 
shaped  the  sentiments  and  lives  of  men ;  and  for  this  reason 
nearly  all  the  statesmen  of  the  world  have  adhered  with 
tenacity  to  their  own  native  sections  and  states  w^hethcr 
right  or  wrong.  Man  is  so  constituted  that  early  education, 
early  associations,  early  impressions,  early  habits,  and  the  in- 
stinctive love  of  home,  always  exercise  a  controlling  influ- 
ence tlirough  life.     To  sustain  these  fatherland  impressions, 


460  CHEISTlAinTY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

men  of  all  nationalities  liave  regarded  it  a  conscientious  duty 
to  risk  fortune,  honor,  and  life.  In  periods  of  turmoil  and 
contentious,  these  instinctive  passions  are  at  fever  heat,  and 
the  baser  emotions  of  the  heart  dominate  over  reason,  justice, 
and  mercy.  In  view  of  these  solemn  facts  it  becomes  the 
Christian,  the  philosoj^her,  and  the  philanthropist  to  pause  in 
the  midst  of  the  raging  tempest,  to  pass  beyond  the  limited 
confines  of  his  home  circle,  and  to  regard  the  desolation  and 
the  sufferings  of  his  brethren  outside  who  are  weeping  and 
Availing  in  sorrow.  What  if  some  of  these  sufferers  have 
erred — what  if  they  have  loved  their  homes  too  mucli — what 
if  they  have  fought  for  an  untenable  principle — let  there  be 
an  end  to  the  punishment,  and  a  limit  to  the  torture  and 
the  humiliation.  Let  not  millions  of  old  men,  women,  and 
children  be  perpetually  goaded,  insulted,  degraded,  and 
starved  to  gratify  the  unhallowed  vengeance  of  a  proud  and 
all-powerful  conqueror.  Let  not  charity,  magnanimity,  and 
mercy  be  blotted  out  from  the  American  vocabulary  to  sati- 
ate the  excited  and  diabolical  instincts  of  two  or  three  mil- 
lions of  fanatical  partisans. 

Since  the  accession  to  power  of  the  ruling  party  a  portion 
of  the  radical  press  has  been  utterly  corrupt  and  unscrupu- 
lous. The  most  exalted  talents  and  j^urity  of  character  have 
afforded  no  protection  against  the  empoisoned  shafts  of  cal- 
umny and  falsehood.  The  public  mind  has  been  perverted 
and  debased  by  an  organized  system  of  journalistic  mendacity 
and  deception.  The  victims  of  this  corrupt  press  have  not 
only  been  the  hated  people  of  the  South,  but  all  others  who 
have  presumed  to  dissent  from  the  extreme  views  of  the  dom- 
inant faction.  So  potent  has  been  this  influence,  that  a  major- 
ity of  the  peoj^le  of  the  North  have  been  induced  to  repudiate 
and  abandon  the  republic  of  their  fathers,  and  to  sustain  a 
consolidated  and  centralized  sectional  oligarchy !  Many  mil- 
lions of  minor  intellects  which  derive  all  their  inspiration 
from  the  press,  now  regard  Washington  and  the  fathers  of 
the  Revolution  as  little  better  than  traitors,  and  the  Consti- 
tution which  they  framed  with  so  much  wisdom,  as  of  no 


CENTRES  OF  PUBLIC  SKNTEMENT.  4G1 

more  value  than  so  much  blank  paper.  While  the  Father  of 
his  Country  yet  lived,  the  radicals  of  that  day,  Tom  Paine 
and  his  associates,  attempted,  through  the  Philadelphia  "  In- 
vestigator "  and  kindred  papers,  to  destroy  him  by  calumny 
and  vit Ulceration,  and  to  debase  the  public  sentiment  down 
to  their  own  revolutionary  and  sectional  level ;  but,  notwith- 
standing the  cons2:)iracy  was  partially  successful,  they  were 
finally  doomed  to  disapjcointment,  and  Washington  and  the 
rejDublic  survived  their  fierce  onslaughts.  Under  more  favor- 
able circumstances,  with  larger  means,  and  more  systematic 
organizations,  modern  radicalism  has  triumphed  over  virtue, 
law,  justice,  and  the  republican  form  of  government.  Un- 
der the  present  condition  of  radical  journalism,  no  politic- 
al opponent,  however  pure  and  noble,  is  safe  from  their 
deadly  attacks ;  truth,  honor,  and  the  ordinary  decencies  of 
life  are  all  sacrificed,  in  order  to  drag  their  victims  to  the 
dust. 

Liberty  of  the  press  is  a  good  thing  so  long  as  truth,  mo- 
rality, virtue,  and  the  general  welfare  are  maintained ;  but 
when  it  degenerates  into  an  organized  system  of  falsehood 
and  deception  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  selfish  ends  of  a 
party  or  of  individuals,  it  becomes  a  blighting  curse.  There 
is  no  absurdity,  no  wickedness,  no  violation  of  religion,  law, 
or  morals,  which  the  radical  press  of  the  North  could  not 
now  instil  into  the  minds  of  their  millions  of  credulous  read- 
ers as  solemn  truths.  So  degraded  and  debauched  has  pub- 
lic sentiment  become,  that  nothing  but  reckless  and  unfound- 
ed assertions,  calumnies,  and  disgusting  details  of  murders, 
seductions,  murderers'  confessions,  hangings,  dog-fights,  cock- 
fights, pugilistic  encounters,  and  the  like,  are  palatable. 
From  a  yearly  file  of  any  one  of  these  journals  may  be  col- 
lected a  res2oectably  sized  volume  of  these  immoral  and  cor- 
mpting  details.  This  is  indeed  liberty  of  the  press,  but  it  is 
fearfully  demoralizing  and  derogatory  to  the  common  wel- 
fare. It  is  the  same  kmd  of  liberty  which  the  pirate  takes 
when  he  preys  upon  the  commerce  of  the  world.  One  robs 
his  victims  of  gold  and  merchandise,  and  calls  it  the  "  free- 


462  '  CHEISTIA.NITY    AE^D    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

dom  of  the  seas;"  the  other  robs  them  of  truth,  virtue,  aucl 
honor,  and  terms  it  the  "  freedom  of  the  press." 

Ko  government  has  ever  existed  long  where  this  univer- 
sal and  unrestrained  liberty  of  the  press  has  obtained  ;  for 
licentiousness  of  thought,  a  general  deterioration  of  public 
and  private  morals,  and  destructive  revolutions  and  civil 
Tvars  have  invariably  been  their  legitimate  sequences.  These 
calamities  in  turn  have  generated  popular  discontent,  and 
distrust  against  both  governments  and  rulers,  and  forced  the 
people  to  rush  to  monarchy  in  self-defence,  for  security  of 
person  and  property.  "  Monarchy,"  says  M.  Guizot,  "  is 
something  quite  diflerent  from  the  will  of  an  individual, 
though  it  presents  itself  under  that  form.  It  is  the  personifi- 
cation of  legitimate  sovereignty — of  the  collective  will  and 
aggregate  wisdom  of  a  peoj)le — of  that  will  which  is  essen- 
tially reasonable,  enlightened,  just,  impartial ;  which  knows 
not  of  individual  wills,  though  by  the  title  of  legitimate  mon- 
archy, earned  by  these  conditions,  it  has  the  right  to  govern 
them.  Such  is  the  meaning  of  monarchy  as  understood  by 
the  people,  and  such  is  the  motive  of  their  adhesion  to  it.  .  .  . 
There  are,  too,  certain  conjunctures  which  are  particularly 
favorable  to  this  personification  ;  such,  for  example,  as  when 
individual  forces  [like  the  great  centres  of  public  sentiment 
to  which  we  have  alluded],  display  themselves  in  the  world 
with  all  their  uncertainties,  all  their  waywardness ;  when 
selfishness  predominates  in  individuals,  either  through  igno- 
rance and  brutality,  or  through  corruption.  At  such  times 
society,  distracted  by  the  conflict  of  individual  wills,  and  un- 
able to  attain,  by  their  free  concurrence,  to  a  general  will 
which  might  hold  them  in  subjection,  feels  an  ardent  desire 
for  a  sovereign  power  to  which  all  individuals  must  submit ; 
and,  as  soon  as  any  institution  presents  itself  which  bears 
any  of  the  characteristics  of  legitimate  sovereignty,  society 
rallies  around  it  with  eagerness,  as  people  under  proscription 
take  refuge  in  the  sanctuary  of  a  church.  This  is  what  has 
taken  place  in  the  wild  and  disorderly  youth  of  nations,  such 
as  those  we  have  j^assed  through.     Monarchy  is  undoubtedly 


CENTEES   OF   PUBLIC    SENTIMENT.  463 

suited  to  those  times  of  strong  and  fruitful  anarchy,  if  I  may 
so  speak,  in  which  society  is  striving  to  form  and  regulate 
itself,  but  is  unable  to  do  so  by  the  free  concurrence  of  indi- 
vidual wills.  .  .  .  Security  and  progress  are  essential  to  social 
existence.  Every  system  Avhich  does  not  provide  for  p)rescnt 
order,  and  progressive  advancement  for  the  future,  is  vicious, 
and  speedily  abandoned.  And  this  was  the  fate  of  the  old 
political  forms  of  society,  of  the  ancient  liberties  (republics) 
of  Europe  in  the  fifteentli  century.  They  could  not  give  to 
society  either  security  or  progress.  These  objects  naturally 
became  sought  for  elsewhere ;  to  obtain  them  recourse  was 
had  to  other  principles  and  other  means."  * 

There  is  a  striking  coincidence  between  the  jDresent  con- 
dition of  the  United  States  and  those  "  old  political  forms  of 
society "  to  which  M.  Guizot  refers.  Our  whole  fabric  of 
society  is  seriously  imperilled  by  "the  conflict  of  a  few  indi- 
vidual wills."  Through  "  ignorance  and  brutality,  or  through 
corruption,"  "  selfishness  predominates  in  these  few  individ- 
uals." We  are  now  in  the  midst  of  one  of  those  "  conjunc- 
tures when  individual  forces  display  themselves  in  the  world 
with  all  their  uncertainties,  all  their  waywardness."  The 
partisan  and  sectional  agitators  of  the  press,  the  pulpit,  and 
tlie  half-deserted  halls  of  Congress,  are  in  no  way  competent 
"  to  provide  for  present  order,  security,  and  progressive  ad- 
vancement for  the  future."  Can  "  society  form  and  regulate 
itself"  under  the  direction  of  a  few  "vicious  individual 
wills ;  "  or  must  the  people  seek  for  some  "  new  and  legiti- 
mate sovereignty  which  is  essentially  reasonable,  enlight- 
ened, just,  impartial,  and  which  knows  not  of  individual 
wills"  ?  Let  the  disjiassionate  statesman  examine  the  actual 
state  of  jmblic  affairs,  and  then  form  his  conclusion. 

Other  personal  centres  of  the  New  England  Puritan  sys- 
tem may  be  found  in  the  numerous  parsons  throughout  the 
United  States  who  have  2:raduated  from  the  various  colleo'es 
and  theological  seminaries  of  JSTew  England. 

These  men  style  themselves  ministers  and  preachers  of 

*  "  History  of  Civilization,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  200-237. 


464  CHEISTIANITY   AUB   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  gosj^el.  They  profess  to  be  actuated  by  the  same  senti- 
ments and  to  teach  the  same  doctrines  as  were  taught  by 
Christ  and  the  apostles.  But  the  lives  of  nearly  all  of  them 
present  a  practical  refutation  of  these  high  claims.  The  rad- 
ical parsons  who  now  occupy  a  majority  of  the  pul]3its  of  the 
Northern  and  Western  States,  resemble  in  no  respect  the  early 
disciples  and  ministers  of  the  Saviour.  The  latter  always 
preached  and  practised  in  accordance  with  the  divine  stand- 
ard of  their  Master,  while  the  former  have  set  up  their  own 
standards,  which  are  as  unlike  that  of  the  Son  of  God  as  evil 
is  unlike  good.  Is  there  an  honest  man  who  dare  assert  de- 
liberately that  the  doctrines  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  have  been 
inculcated  from  Northern  radical  puljnts  during  the  past  six 
years  ?  Is  there  a  single  earnest  believer  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment who  can  justify  or  defend  the  violent  and  vindictive 
proceedings  of  these  so-called  ministers,  as  they  have  contin- 
ually urged  on  their  flocks  to  hatred,  vengeance,  and  slaugh- 
ter, from  their  thousand  pulpits  ? 

These  i^olitical  preachers  address  themselves  on  every 
Sunday  in  the  year  to  millions  of  credulous  minds.  Probably 
ninety-five  per  cent,  of  these  listeners  have  no  opinions  of  their 
own,  but  accej)t  blindly  the  j)olitical  and  moral  as  well  as 
the  religious  instructions  of  their  pastors.  Who  can  contem- 
plate the  general  character  of  the  sermons  which  issue  con- 
tinually from  the  lips  of  these  men — their  violent  partisan shij), 
sectional  hatred,  vindictiveness,  and  the  wanton  desecrations 
of  their  sacred  offices  by  preaching  politics,  and  fomenting 
discords  and  wars  among  brethren,  without  serious  appre- 
hensions for  the  ultimate  fate  of  Christianity  in  Puritan 
America  ?  Analyze  carefully  and  critically  the  utterances 
and  the  writings  of  these  clerical  centres  of  public  opinion, 
and  contrast  them  with  the  teachings  of  the  gospel  which 
they  profess  to  follow,  and  the  inference  will  be  conclusive 
that  they  are  false  teachers,  hypocrites,  and  mammon-wor- 
shippers. Regard  the  cmimus^  and  the  hateful  resolutions  of 
their  ecclesiastical  synods  and  other  organized  assemblies 
during  the  past  few  years,  and  judge  whether  Christian  sen- 


CENTKES  OF  PUBLIC  SENTIMENT.  465 

timcnts  or  satanic  influences  have  actuated  them.  "  By  their 
fruits  shall  ye  know  them."  Have  the  good  fruits  of  char- 
ity, humility,  and  brotherly  love  been  produced  by  these 
radical  pulj^it  orators,  or  have  they  sown  seeds  of  sectional 
discord  and  civil  strife  ?  Have  they  forgiven  the  trespasses 
of  others  as  they  would  desire  God  to  forgive  their  own  tres- 
passes? When  they  have  been  smitten  on  one  cheek,  have 
they  presented  the  other  also  ?  or  when  their  coats  have  been 
taken  from  them,  have  they  proffered  their  cloaks  also? 
Have  they  been  centres  and  sources  of  truth,  virtue,  love, 
and  Christian  concord,  or  of  calumny,  vice,  hatred,  and  fra- 
ternal contentions  ?  Have  they  grieved  in  sadness  and  in 
te43rs  while  fraternal  slaughter  and  devastation  were  cursing 
the  land,  or  have  they  hung  up  red  battle-flags,  with  expres- 
sions of  triumph  and  defiance,  where  the  holy  cross  alone 
should  be  seen? 

We  have  shown  that  the  spirit  which  has  always  ani- 
mated the  advocates  of  the  Puritan  system,  both  in  Europe 
and  in  the  United  States,  has  been  revolutionary  and  san- 
guinary. The  terrible  religious  wars  in  Europe  during  the 
sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries,  are  all  dis- 
tinctly traceable  to  this  spirit.  In  the  United  States,  the  early 
conflicts  against  the  Indian  tribes,  and  against  the  Quakers, 
Baptists,  and  other  opposing  sects,  were  due  to  the  same  in- 
fluence. K  its  evil  results  have  been  less  manifest  durinsr 
the  past  century,  the  cause  has  consisted  in  a  lack  of  physical 
power,  not  of  disposition.  But  its  inherent  tendencies  have 
ever  been  visible  in  insolent,  mischievous,  and  unprovoked 
ao'itations  asrainst  other  sections  and  other  communities. 
There  has  been  no  period  since  the  days  of  Luther  and  Cal- 
vin, when  their  followers,  led  on  by  their  parsons,  would  not 
have  destroyed  their  hated  opponents  with  the  sword,  pro- 
vided they  had  possessed  the  jDOwer  to  do  so. 

For  the  past  six  years  the  Puritan  element  has  been  in 
the  ascendant  both  North  and  South,  and  we  have  witnessed 
its  terrible  fruits.  At  the  North  it  is  still  in  the  ascendant, 
and  those  Avho  will  note  the  Avorkings  of  the  great  clerical 


4:66  CHEISTIANITT  AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

ancl  other  centres  and  nurseries  of  public  opininon,  may  be- 
hold the  same  revolutionary  tendencies  and  tlie  same  san- 
guinary spirit  as  existed  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Witness 
the  Con2:ressional  and  State  enactments  as-ainst  freedom  of 
Avorship — against  the  mnple  preaching  of  the  gospel — in  Mis- 
souri and  other  States,  unless  the  ministers  preach  and 
act  in  the  interests  of  Puritan  radicalism !  In  numerous  in- 
stances clergymen  have  been  dragged  from  their  sacred  call- 
ings, and  held  in  durance,  and  for  trial,  by  radical  spies  and 
constables,  because  they  have  refused  to  lend  their  influence 
to  the  ruliug  faction  !  In  a  majority  of  the  synods,  conven- 
tions, and  churches  of  the  Puritan  sects,  we  find  the  same 
spirit  of  intolerance  and  persecution,  especially  against  the 
Catholic  Church.  Their  representative  men  do  not  hesitate 
to  avow  their  opinions  in  synod,  convention,  and  church, 
that  the  Catholia  Church  and  Catholic  influence  must  he  put 
doicn  in  blood.  As  a  fair  example  of  this  Puritan  feeling  we 
quote  an  extract  from  a  sermon  delivered  in  Christ's  Church 
of  Brooklyn,  :N'.  Y.,  on  Sunday  the  14th  of  April,  1867,  by 
the  distinguished  Rev.  S.  H.  Tyng,  D.  D.,  of  New  York: 

After  alluding  to  what  the  reverend  gentleman  is  pleased 
to  designate  as  "false  Christs  which  afflict  the  Church  at 
the  present  time,"  in  the  form  of  "  Unitarianism,"  "  imperti- 
nent Traditionalism,"  "hollow  Ceremonialism"  or  "  empty 
Pitualism,"  and  "assuming  Ecclesiasticism "  or  the  "Church 
of  Rome,"  the  following  summary  mode  was  boldly  suggest- 
ed for  their  removal :  "  These  four  were  the  impostures  which 
were  arising  in  the  Church  to  turn  men  fro'in  the  only  true 
Christ  /  and  if  the  Church  loas  marauded  by  their  influence^ 
and  societies  maintained,  he  icas  called  upon,  with  others,  to 
resist  them,,  even  unto  blood.  He  had  lived  to  see  one  rebellion 
on  earth  subdukl,  and  he  woidd  praise  God  if  he  woidd  wit- 
7iess  the  subjection  of  another.'''' 

In  uttering  these  revolutionary  and  sanguinary  sentiments 
this  eminent  radical  divine  merely  exposes  to  public  view  the 
inner  heart  and  the  actual  convictions  of  modern  Puritanical 
radicalism.     At  present  this  fanatical  hostility  is  chiefly  con- 


CENTEES  OF  PUBLIC  SEXTIMENT.  467 

fined  to  Catholicism :  and  when  the  hated  South  shall  have 
been  thoroughly  desolated  and  destroyed,  and  radical  and 
negro  Puritanism  shall  reign  supremely  there,  the  grand  and 
Moody  crusade  against  the  Catholic  Church  will  be  inaugu- 
rated. A  great  majority  of  the  sects  entertain  the  most  bitter 
and  deadly  hatred  against  the  entire  Catholic  system  and  its 
hierarchy.  These  hostile  sentiments  are  daily  and  hourly 
manifested  both  publicly  and  privately  ;  and  the  idea  is  very 
general  as  well  as  very  popular  among  the  more  zealous  par- 
tisans, that  there  should,  ere  long,  be  a  bloody  Puritanical 
campaign  against  the  rapid  extension  of  Catholicism  in  the 
United  States. 

Conservative  men  may  regard  lightly  these  ominous 
threatenino-s  of  the  s-reat  clerical  centres  and  manufactur- 
ers  of  public  sentiment,  as  they  regarded  the  threatenings 
which  preceded  our  late  civil  war ;  but  the  turbulent  events 
of  the  past  three  hundred  years  admonish  us  of  the  invariable 
results  Avhicli  have  followed  these  fanatical  agitations, 
harangues,  and  threatenings. 

Enter  the  halls  of  Congress  and  regard  the  manufacturers 
of  public  opinion  there  assembled.  These  men  are  neither 
patriots  nor  statesmen,  because  they  do  not  possess  the  requi- 
site qualifications  to  preside  over  the  affairs  of  a  great  nation 
with  justice  and  impartiality,  and  because  they  have  not 
sufficient  intellect  and  love  of  country  to  render  their  own 
personal  prejudices  and  interests  subordinate  to  the  common 
welfare  of  the  entire  nation.  They  are  not  national  legisla- 
tors, but  the  agents  and  representatives  of  a  party  and  a  sec- 
tion. 

In  the  best  days  of  the  republic,  when  great  statesmen 
and  real  patriots  presided  over  her  destinies,  when  the  glory 
and  welfare  of  the  nation  were  paramount  to  the  interests  of 
party,  a  deliberate  violation  of  the  established  Constitution 
would  have  been  regarded  as  a  crime  of  the  highest  magni- 
tude. Often,  in  the  midst  of  fierce  and  angry  partisan  con- 
tentions, when  passion  threatened  to  trample  reason  and 
justice  in  the  dust,  have  these  national  giants  arisen  in  their 


4:6S  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

strength  and  majesty,  and  with  eloquent  words  of  wisdom, 
moderation,  conciliation,  reproof,  and  earnest  patriotism, 
soothed  tlie  turbulent  elements,  vindicated  the  laws,  and  res- 
cued their  country  from  civil  strife  and  bloodshed.  The  spirits 
of  these  good  men  of  the  past — of  Washington,  Clay,  Web- 
ster, and  Jackson — now  look  down  upon  their  distracted  and 
disunited  country  with  unutterable  sorrow  and  mortification ; 
and  could  they  s]3eak  from  their  spirit-homes,  to  the  desper- 
ate factionists  who  have  practically  overthrown  the  Union, 
they  would  crush  them  under  the  weight  of  their  bitter  re- 
jDroaches.  When  men  like  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson, 
Madison,  Hamilton,  Clay,  and  Webster,  were  the  sources 
and  centres  of  public  sentiment,  and  gave  direction  to  the 
policy  of  government,  the  Union  was  safe,  and  all  sections 
Avere  secure  in  their  just  rights.  The  people  looked  up  to 
these  leaders  for  inspiration  and  guidance,  and  their  confi- 
dence was  not  misplaced  or  abused.  How  sad  and  humilia- 
ting to  contrast  the  turbulent  and  disorganizing  Puritan 
agitators  of  the  present  day  with  these  dignified  and  wise 
statesmen  who  have  passed  away  !  How  melancholy  to 
know  that  the  places  once  hallowed  by  the  presence  of  the 
patriot  chiefs  of  the  past,  are  now  daily  desecrated  by  scenes 
of  coarse  brutality,  injustice,  and  partisan  violence  and 
malice ! 


CHAPTER    XXXIY. 

PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  PROSPECTS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

AccoEDiNG  to  the  most  reliable  modern  geographers,  the 
total  number  of  mhabitants  now  on  the  earth  is  between 
eight  and  ten  hundred  millions.  A  few  Yv'riters  have  placed 
tlie  number  as  low  as  six  hundred  cind  fifty  millions^  but  by 
far  the  greater  proportion  have  fixed  their  estimates  some- 
where between  eight  and  ten  hundred  inillions.  More  than 
half  a  century  ago,  when  intercommunication  between  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  world  was  far  more  difficult  and  lunited 
than  at  present,  and  when  the  facilities  for  procuring  statis- 
tical facts  Avere  comparatively  small,  Malte-Brun  estimated 
the  population  of  the  world  at  six  hundred  and  fifty-three 
millions.  In  1827  Pinkerton  put  the  grand  total  at  seven 
hundred  millions,  and  Balbi  at  seven  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  millions.  A  writer  in  a  late  number  of  the  "  Civiltd 
Cattolica^''  from  which  we  have  collated  the  greater  portion 
of  these  statistics,  places  the  number  at  eight  hundred  and 
forty  millions.  The  following  is  a  tabulated  statement  of 
the  subdivisions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  by  the  au- 
thors referred  to : 

Malte-Brun.  Pinkerton.  Baroi.  Civ.  Cattolica. 

Christianity..   228,000,000  235,000,000  200,000,000  344,000,000 

Judaism 5,000,000  5,000,000  4,000,000  4,000,000 

Islamism 110,000,000  120,000,000  96,000,000  100,000,000 

Brahminism  .  60,000,000  60,000,000  60,000,000  60,000,000 

Buddhism...  150,000,000  180,000,000  170,000,000  180,000,000 

Other  creeds.  100,000,000  100,000,000  147,000,000  152,000,000 


Total...  653,000,000    700,000,000    737,000,000    840,000,000 


470  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS    CONFLICTS. 

Of  this  world-population  more  than  iioo  hundred  ynillions 
are  Catholics,  and  about  sixty  'tnillions  are  Protestants.  Dif- 
ferent writers  have  varied  somewhat  in  their  computations, 
some  having  placed  the  number  of  Catholics  as  low  as  one 
hundred  and  fifty  millions^  and  some  as  high  as  tioo  hundred 
and  twenty  millions ;  and  the  number  of  Protestants  as  low 
as  forty  inillions^  and  as  high  as  sixty-six  millions.  But 
from  recent  official  data,  both  governmental  and  ecclesiastical, 
as  well  as  from  the  statistics  of  the  most  reputable  modern 
historians  and  geographers,  it  may  be  fairly  conceded  that 
our  estimate  is  very  nearly  correct. 

The  writer  in  the  "  Civiltd  Cattolica  "  thus  distributes 
the  Catholic  population  of  the  world : 

Europe 147,194,000 

Asia  and  Oceanica 9,666,000 

Africa 4,071,000 

America 46,970,000 

Total 207,901,000 

Thus  much  for  numbers.  It  is  a  well-known  and  gener- 
ally-conceded fact,  that  the  Catholic  Church  at  the  present 
time  is  making  more  rapid  progress  in  conversions  and  in  in- 
fluence among  nearly  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  than  at  any 
previous  period.  The  numerous  and  rapid  subdivisions  of 
the  sects,  and  their  alarming  tendency  toward  Rationalism 
and  Indifferentism,  have  induced  thoughtful  men  everywhere 
to  reflect  seriously  upon  these  innumerable  variations  and 
conflicts  of  opinion,  and  to  look  about  them  for  some  reason- 
able, uniform,  and  fixed  religious  faith.  As  they  regard  the 
spirit  which  too  often  actuates  the  various  sects,  their  devo- 
tion to,  and  their  labors  for  Ctesar  rather  than  for  God,  their 
perversions  of  the  sacred  office  of  the  ministry  by  preaching 
politics  instead  of  religion,  and  the  almost  universal  deprava- 
tion of  the  religious  sentiment,  they  instinctively  direct  their 
thoughts  toward  the  Catholic  Church  and  its  beneficent  and 


PRESENT   CONDITION,    ETC.  471 

immutable  truths,  and  not  unfrcquently  enter  tlie  fold  to 
secure  peace  and  rest  for  their  souls. 

Of  the  sixty  millions  of  Protestants  of  the  world,  many- 
are  Atheists,  Deists,  and  Skeptics  who  deny  the  inspira- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  and  the  divinity  of  Jesus.  Of  the 
latter  classes  there  are  about  ten  millions  in  the  United 
States.  If  we  take  into  the  account  the  Rationalistic,  Ma- 
terialistic, and  Atheistic  elements  which  have  issued  from 
the  Puritan  system  in  Germany,  France,  Switzerland,  Hol- 
land, Great  Britain,  and  other  states  of  Europe,  the  number 
cannot  fall  far  short  of  eight  millions.  Deducting  these 
numbers  from  Protestantism,  it  leaves  less  than  forty-five 
millions  of  adherents.  Keither  Atheists^  Deists,  Rational- 
ists, or  Pantheists  can  be  regarded  as  Christians  or  Protes- 
tants, because  they  ignore  and  repudiate  the  entire  Christian 
system,  and  all  sects,  creeds,  and  practices  founded  upon  it. 
It  is  but  just,  therefore,  that  they  should  be  left  out  of  the 
computation. 

While,  therefore,  Protestantism  is  steadily  declining  in 
consequence  of  continual  defections  from  its  ranks  of  those 
who  embrace  Catholicism,  or  who  rusli  blindly  into  the  ranks 
of  skepticism  and  infidelity.  Catholicity  is  advancing  with 
great  rapidity.  Not  only  in  heathen  lands,  but  in  the  strong- 
holds of  Protestantism,  is  she  making  progress.  To  demon- 
strate our  assertion,  we  present  the  following  official  data 
from  the  annual  "  Catholic  Directory  "  of  England,  and  other 
reliable  authorities,  with  reference  to  England,  Scotland, 
Holland,  and  the  United  States : 

In  1839  EnQ-land  and  Scotland  contained  CIO  Catholic 
clergymen;  513  churches  and  chapels;  no  monasteries;  17 
convents,  10  colleges.  In  1849  there  were  897  clergymen; 
612  churches  and  chapels;  13  monasteries;  41  convents;  10 
colleges.  In  1864  there  were  1,445  clergymen ;  1,098  churclics 
and  chapels;  56  monasteries;  186  convents;  12  colleges. 

These  figures  show  the  increase  of  Catholicism  during 
the  past  twenty -five  years.  Those  who  have  watched  the 
peculiar  interior  workings  of  the  Anp^Iican  Church  within 


472  CHRISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

the  past  two  years,  and  beheld  her  decided  advances  toward 
the  ancient  Church,  will  be  able  to  understand  with  what 
rapidity  Catholicity  is  progressing  in  Great  Britain. 

The  following  are  the  statistics  Avith  regard  to  Holland : 
In  1814  there  were  850,000  Catholics,  and  in  1864  there 
w^ere  1,300,000 — an  increase  of  450,000  in  fifty  years.  At  the. 
same  dates  there  were  respectively  814  and  941  parishes — an 
increase  of  127  in  fifty  years ;  of  clergymen,  1,216  and  1,726 — 
an  increase  of  310  in  fifty  years;  of  churches,  896  and  976 — 
an  increase  of  80  in  fifty  years. 

The  increase  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States  has  been 
still  more  rapid  than  in  the  countries  enumerated,  as  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  the  "  Metropolitan  Catholic  Almanac," 
for  1867,  and  the  "Catholic  World"  for  January,  1866,  will 
show: 


Years. 

Dioceees. 

Vicarintes 
Apostolic. 

Bishops. 

Clergymen. 

Churctes 
and  Statioos, 

Ecclesiastical 
Institutions. 

Colleges. 

Schools  for 
GirlB. 

1808 

1 



2 

68 

80 

2 

1 

2/ 

1830 

11 



10 

232 

230 

9 

6 

20 

1840 

16 



17 

482 

812 

13 

9 

47 

1850 

27 



27 

1,081 

1,578 

29 

17 

91 

1854 

41 

2 

39 

1,574 

2,458 

34 

20 

112 

1857 

41 

2 

39 

1,872 

2,882     . 

35 

29 

134 

1861 

43 

3 

45 

2,317 

3,795 

49. 

— 

— 

From  these  statistics  it  appears  that  the  average  increase 
of  Catholic  clergymen  and  Catholic  churches  and  stations 
during  the  -past  sixty  years  has  been  more  than  one  hundred 
per  centum  every  ten  years,  and  that  the  ratio  of  advancement 
within  the  past  decade  is  greater  than  at  any  corresponding 
period  heretofore  !  A  similar  progress  will  be  observed  in 
the  establishment  of  institutions  of  learning  in  all  parts  of 
the  United  States. 

With  regard  to  the  great  numerical  preponderance  of 
Catholics  in  the  world,  our  opponents  console  themselves 
with  the  fact  that  many  of  them  are  poor  and  ignorant, 
while  nearly  all  of  their  own  adherents  are  educated,  pros- 
perous, and  comfortable.     From  these  facts  they  infer  that 


PRESENT   CONDITIOX,    ETC.  473 

Protestantism  is  snj^erior  to  Catbolicism.  'We  admit  the 
facts,  but  we  deny  i7i  toto  the  inference.  If  just  comparisons 
he  instituted  between  Catholic  and  Protestant  nations  simi- 
Larly  circumstanced,  like  France  and  England ;  Austria  and 
Prussia ;  France  and  the  United  States ;  Belgium  and  Hol- 
land ;  Sardinia,  Lorabardy,  and  Spain,  and  Denmark,  Swe- 
den, and  Norway,  it  will  be  found  that  in  point  of  intelli- 
gence, refinement,  morality,  and  every  thing  pertaining  to 
the  useful  and  ornamental  arts,  these  Catholic  countries  are 
in  all  respects  equal  to  the  Protestant  ones.  Lord  Macaulay 
and  other  Protestant  writers  have  very  unfairly  brought  into 
contrast  nations  in  all  respects  dissimilar,  and  have  thus  de- 
duced conclusions  in  favor  of  the  Protestant  religion  and  of 
Protestant  civilization.  Appropriate  comparisons  will  lead 
to  very  different  results. 

If  we  contrast  Catholic  France  with  Protestant  England, 
we  shall  find  that  in  literature,  in  the  sciences,  in  the  fine 
arts,  in  personal  refinement  and  culture,  and  in  morality  and 
virtue,  France  is  superior  to  England.  A  critical  examina- 
tion of  the  number  and  calibre  of  the  authors,  men  of  science, 
and  artists  of  the  two  nations,  and  of  the  extent  and  charac- 
ter of  their  works,  will  verify  this  remark.  So  far  as  morali- 
ty and  obedience  to  the  laws  are  concerned,  France  also  has 
the  advantage  of  England,  as  the  following  official  and  gov- 
ernmental statistics  of  crime  prove  : 

In  1862  the  population  of  France  was  37,386,001.  The 
whole  number  of  persons  accused  of  crime  during  this  entire 
year  was  6,010.  This  is  equivalent  to  one  criminal  to  every 
5, 050  of  the  entire  population. 

In  1804  the  population  of  England  and  Wales  Avas  20,- 
000,221.  The  whole  number  of  persons  accused  of  crime 
during  this  entire  year  was  14,720.  This  is  equivalent  to 
one  criminal  to  every  1,370  of  the  entire  population. 

These  years  afford  a  fair  average  of  crime  in  the  two 
countries.  We  have  examined  the  official  statistics  for  many 
years  in  succession,  and  do  not  find  a  variation  of  more  than 
two  or  three  per  cent,  in  a  period  of  six  years.     Wc  have  se- 


4:74:  CHEISTIANITY   AND   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

lected  the  years  1862  for  France  and  1864  for  England, 
because  we  happen  to  have  the  official  records  of  both  gov- 
ernments during  these  years  before  us.  These  statistics  of 
crime  are  published  by  the  authority  and  under  the  direct 
supervision  of  the  two  governments,  and  are  therefore  re- 
liable. 

We  refer  those  who  desire  minute  and  detailed  informa- 
tion upon  this  interesting  subject  to  the  "  Compte  General 
de  la  Justice  Crhnhielle  en  France^  pendant  VAnnee  1861, 
1862,  1863,  etc.  Par  le  Garde  des  jSceaux,  3Iinistre  de  la 
Justice  et  des  Cidtes.''''  Also  to  the  governmental  statistics 
of  England  and  Wales  for  the  past  ten  years. 

In  the  useful  arts,  like  manufactures  of  iron  and  steel, 
and  the  uses  to  which  they  are  applied  ;  porcelain,  silks, 
cloths,  fabrics  of  all  kinds,  as  well  as  ship-building,  architec- 
ture, labor-saving  machines,  and  internal  improvements,  Al- 
bion can  claim  no  superiority  over  her  Gallic  rival.  What- 
ever advantage  either  party  may  possess  in  any  sj^ecial 
branch  is  fairly  equalized  in  other  branches. 

In  the  art  of  war,  we  need  only  refer  to  the  last  allied 
operations  of  the  two  nations  against  Russia  in  the  Crimea, 
for  the  test  of  superiority  in  arms. 

If  we  regard  the  statesmanship  and  the  j^olitical  influence 
of  the  two  peoples  with  reference  to  the  affairs  of  Europe, 
the  superiority  of  France  will  still  be  apparent. 

If  we  descend  to  the  minor  details  of  internal  polity,  like 
the  administration  of  domestic  and  public  affairs,  the  judi- 
ciary, the  police  system,  the  sanitary  regulations,  the  public 
institutions,  etc.,  France  is  again  in  the  ascendant. 

The  navies  of  the  two  powers  are  now  about  equal  in  the 
number  of  ships  and  guns,  and  in  strength  and  efficiency. 
Only  an  actual  naval  war  can  determine  their  relative  supe- 
riority. 

Here  we  have  two  neighboring  nations,  nearly  equal  in 
population,  in  natural  capacities,  in  intelligence  and  culture, 
in  wealth,  with  a  similar  soil  and  climate,  the  one  developing 
its  civilization  from  a  Catholic,  the  other  from  a  Protestant 


PRESENT   CONDITION,    ETC.  475 


stand-point.  It  would  require  more  space  tlian  we  are  able 
to  devote  to  the  subject  to  demonstrate  in  detail  the  special 
facts  bearing  upon  each  of  the  points  enumerated  ;  but  to 
those  who  are  familiar  with  the  past  and  present  condition 
of  the  two  countries  our  conclusions  will  be  satisfactory. 

Catholic  Belgium  occupies  the  same  position  toward  Prot- 
estant Holland,  so  far  as  civilization  is  concerned,  as  France 
holds  toward  England.  Surely  no  candid  man  will  deny  that 
in  every  thing  pertaining  to  a  high  state  of  civilization  the 
former  is  fxr  in  advance  of  the  latter. 

If  Catliolic  Austria  be  brought  into  competition  Avith 
Protestant  Prussia,  the  first  will  lose  nothing  by  the  compar- 
ison. In  the  scale  of  progress  and  general  intelligence  they 
may  fairly  be  ranked  as  equals. 

Sardinia,  Lombardy,  and  Spain  are  equal  in  all  respects, 
and  in  a  few  particulars  superior,  to  Denmark,  Sweden,  and 
Norway.  It  is  a  conceded  fact  that  the  criminal  statistics 
of  Sweden  and  Denmark  indicate  a  greater  ratio  of  crime 
than  those  of  any  other  nation  in  Europe.  For  detailed  facts 
upon  this  subject  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  official  statis- 
tics of  crime  of  the  several  countries. 

The  civilization  of  the  United  States  cannot  justly  be 
compared  with  that  of  any  other  people,  in  consequence  of 
the  diversity  of  nationalities  of  which  they  are  composed. 
A  large  proportion  of  the  Catholic  element  is  made  up  of 
poor  and  ignorant  immigrants  from  Ireland,  whose  ancestors 
for  centuries  have  been  kept  in  servile  subjection,  poverty, 
and  ignorance  by  England.  As  a  general  rule  the  poorest 
part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland  have  come  here  with  a  view 
of  improving  their  condition.  In  common  with  their  breth- 
ren at  home,  they  have  been  suffering  for  many  generations 
from  tyrannical  and  demoralizing  influences,  so  that  nearly 
all  mental  development  and  worldly  prosperity  have  been 
impracticable.  This  class  of  men  cannot,  therefore,  be  ad- 
duced as  a  fair  test  of  Catholic  civilization,  nor  can  any  just 
comparisons  be  instituted  between  them  and  the  rich  and 
educated  native  Protestants  of  the  country.     Contrast  if  you 


476  CHEISTIANITY   AND    ITS    CONFLICTS. 

please  educated  Irish,  German,  French,  or  American  Catho- 
lics with  equal  numbers  of  American  Protestants  of  the  same 
class,  and  we  have  no  apprehension  as  to  the  result. 

In  our  large  cities,  the  statistics  of  crime  demonstrate 
that  a  great  majority  of  the  wmor  offences  are  committed  by- 
Irish  Catholics.  The  facts  we  have  just  detailed  afford  a  sat- 
isfactory explanation  of  this  circumstance.  Poverty,  igno- 
rance, and  want,  are  powerful  tempters  to  crime.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  records  of  our  state-prisons  show  that  by  far 
the  greater  proportion  of  capital  crimes  have  been  perpe- 
trated by  Protestants. 

With  regard  to  the  concedied  intellectual  and  educational 
inferiority  of  other  portions  of  the  Catholic  world,  the  follow- 
ing statistics  from  the  ^^CiviUd  Gattolica''^  show  why  this 
is  so,  and  they  likewise  render  manifest  the  important  facts 
respecting  the  vast  missionary  labors  of  the  Church  in  con- 
verting millions  of  heathen  to  Christianity  : 

Heathen  Converts  to  Catholicism. 

Asia  and  Oceanica 5,000,000 

Africa 3,000,000 

America about  23,200,000 

Total 31,200,000 

These  converted  natives  of 'Asia,  Africa,  and  America  do 
not  indeed  possess  the  natural  endowments  or  the  acquired 
knowledge  and  culture  of  the  Anglo-Saxon,  or  the  Frank,  but 
they  have  been  Christianized,  and  elevated  vastly  in  the 
scale  of  humanity.  They  are  unintellectual  and  rude  Chris- 
tians, but  they  worship  the  true  God. 

Catholicity  is  a  perfect  religious  system  for  all  forms  of 
government  and  for  all  classes  of  men.  Its  principles  arc 
based  on  love  to  God  and  man.  Its  ambition  and  its  ener- 
gies are  expended  in  bringing  humanity  nearer  to  the  Eternal. 
Its  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  but  its  aspirations,  its  hopes, 
its  efforts  are  for  eternity.     Its  jurisdiction  is  confined  to  the 


PRESENT   CONDITION,    ETC.  477 


Spiritual  order.  Therefore  it  is  that  its  canons  and  decrees 
inculcate  strict  loyalty  to  existing  governments,  and  obedi- 
ence to  legally  constituted  authorities.  Not  only  docs  it  re- 
spect and  obey  the  laAvs,  but  it  adapts  itself  to  the  Iiabits 
and  customs  of  the  nations  which  harbor  it.  In  inculcating 
the  divine  precepts,  it  continually  directs  the  minds  and  dis- 
positions of  men  and  of  nations  to  charity  and  peace.  It 
struggles  hard  for  converts,  for  churches,  and  for  institutions 
of  learning  and  mercy ;  but  it  is  through  love  of  God  and 
man,  not  Avorldly  ambition. 

We  cannot  better  illustrate  the  truth  of  these  observa- 
tions than  to  cite  the  conduct  of  the  Catholic  clergy  in  our 
late  civil  war,  and  in  the  still  more  recent  rebellion  in  Ire- 
land. In  both  instances  the  priesthood  as  a  body  has  ad- 
hered to  the  laws  of  the  Church,  by  proving  faitliful  to  their 
allegiance,  and  active  in  their  efforts  for  harmony  and  peace. 
They  have  not  converted  their  churches  into  political  halls, 
for  the  purj)Ose  of  inciting  hatred  and  strife  among  brethren, 
but  they  have  steadily  preached  religion  and  nothing  but 
religion.  When  the  angry  passions  of  the  people  have  been 
roused,  they  have  ever  sought  to  calm  them,  and  to  divert 
their  thoughts  into  better  channels. 

For  these  reasons  the  status  of  the  Catholic  Church  among 
the  various  nations,  both  civilized  and  barbarous,  has  always 
been  much  higher  than  that  of  the  sects.  The  authorized 
re^^resentatives  of  the  former  are  wedded  to  poverty  and 
celibacy  in  order  that  their  undivided  energies  and  affections 
may  be  devoted  to  the  cause  of  their  Divine  Master.  Yforldly 
ambition  and  worldly  pursuits  have  no  place  in  their  thoughts 
or  desires.  Therefore  they  keep  aloof  from  all  active  partici- 
pation in  the  affairs  of  states. 

Of  necessity  the  labors  and  affections  of  the  ministers 
of  the  sects  must  be  more  or  less  diverted  from  their  reli- 
gious duties  toward  their  families.  The  instincts  of  nature 
urgently  prompt  them  to  struggle  for  a  certain  competency 
in  order  that  wife  and  children  shall  not  be  left  penniless 
and  helpless  after  tJiey  are  gone.     For  the  purpose  of  odu- 


478  CHEISTIANITY   A^B   ITS   CONFLICTS. 

eating  sons  and  daughters,  and  of  advancing  their  interests 
as  members  of  society,  they  are  obliged  to  mingle  more  or 
less  in  business  affairs,  and  to  court  political,  financial,  and 
social  interests.  We  do  not  say  that  they  cannot  serve  God 
w^ell  under  such  circumstances,  but  we  do  assert  that  they 
can  serve  Him  far  better  without  these  distractions. 

From  the  general  principles  indicated  with  reference  to 
the  two  religious  systems,  it  is  evident  that  the  future  pros- 
pects of  Catholicism  are  far  more  encouraging  than  those  of 
Protestantism.  The  policy  of  one  is  non-intervention,  and 
strict  obedience  to  legally  constituted  authorities ;  of  the 
other,  aggression,  agitation,  and  innovation.  History  teaches 
that  all  the  tendencies  of  the  one  are  in  the  direction  of 
public  order  and  tranquillity,  and  of  the  other  toward  dis- 
cord and  revolution.  One  is  admirably  adapted  to  every 
conceivable  form  of  government,  and  everywhere  thrives 
apace  and  extends  its  beneficent  influences;  the  other  lan- 
guishes and  decays  except  where  its  political  power  is  domi- 
nant. 

Pertinent  to  the  subject,  we  cite  the  following  observa- 
tions of  Dr.  Channing :  "  Religion  surpasses  all  other  prin- 
ciples in  giving  free  and  manifold  action  to  the  mind.  It 
recognizes  in  every  faculty  and  sentiment  the  workmanship 
of  God,  and  assigns  a  sphere  of  agency  to  each.  It  takes  our 
whole  nature  under  its  guardianship,  and,  with  a  parental 
love,  ministers  to  the  inferior  as  well  as  to  the  higher  grati- 
fications. False  religion  mutilates  the  soul,  sees  evil  in  our 
innocent  sensibilities,  and  rules  with  a  tyrant's  frown  and 
rod.  True  religion  is  a  mild  and  lawful  sovereign,  govern- 
ing to  protect,  to  give  strength,  to  unfold  all  our  inward  re- 
sources." * 

Most  admirably  do  these  observations  of  our  eminent  di- 
vine apply  to  the  influences  of  Catholicity  upon  mankind. 
Regarding  man's  entire  nature,  appealing  to  every  "  faculty 
and  sentiment,"  it  aims  to  develop  and  to  exalt  the  nobler 
qualities,  to  control  and  direct  the  inferior  ones,  and  to  re- 

*  Channing's  "Memoirs,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  211. 


PKESENT   CONDITION,    ETC.  4:70 


press  every  thing  which  is  vicious  and  sinful.  While  it  re- 
frains from  all  interference  with  governments  and  existing 
laws,  it  endeavors  to  elevate  individuals,  and  to  purify  and 
harmonize  society.  Its  orders  of  mercy  and  charity  are  ever  , 
present  and  active  where  irreligion  and  vice  are  to  be  sub- 
dued, and  human  want  and  suffering  are  to  be  alleviated.  It 
has  always  been  a  sure  friend  of  the  people,  an  opi^onent  of 
injustice  and  oppression,  a  barrier  against  infidelity,  and  the 
great  bulwark  of  Christianity  and  human  rights.  Its  sphere 
is  spiiitual,  not  political ;  and  its  operative  agencies  are  love 
and  charity,  not  force  and  coercion.  Jesus  is  recognized  as 
its  Supreme  Head  and  Ruler,  and  His  revealed  laws  are  its 
rule  of  faith  and  practice.  As  the  Divine  Master  and  His 
first  sacerdotal  officers  always  kept  aloof  from  political  and 
state  affairs,  so  have  His  subsequent  representatives  ever 
followed  the  example.  Catholicity  docs  not  indeed  hesitate 
to  rebuke  wickedness  in  high  places,  and,  when  necessary,  to 
invoke  the  censures  of  the  Church;  but,  under  all  circum- 
stances, its  operations  are  strictly  confined  to  the  spiiitual 
order.  "  The  Church,"  says  Brownson,  "  maintains  her  inde- 
pendence and  her  superiority  as  representing  the  spiritual 
order,  for  she  governs  those  who  are  within,  not  those  who 
are  Avithout,  and  the  State  acts  in  harmony,  not  in  conflict 
with  her,  because  it  confines  its  action — where  it  has  power — 
to  things  temporal."  * 

We  have  endeavored  to  present  Christianity  as  it  was 
originally  established,  and  as  it  has  been  preserved  and  per- 
petuated by  the  Church.  We  have  given  a  brief  outline  of 
its  conflicts  with  the  numerous  antagonistic  forces  which 
have  been  arrayed  against  it  up  to  the  present  period.  We 
have  shown  that  its  tenets  and  tendencies  address  themselves 
more  to  spiritual  than  to  material  interests,  and  therefore 
that  it  is  perfectly  adapted  to  all  classes  and  conditions  of 
men,  as  well  as  to  all  forms  of  government ;  that  its  natural 
and  legitimate  fruits  are  beneficent  and  progressive;  that  its 
earlier  spiritual  conquests  of  paganism  and  barbarism,  and 

*  "  Catholic  World,"  April,  18C7. 


480  CHRISTIANITY  AND   ITS   CONTLIOTS. 

its  later  missionary  enterprises  among  heathen  nations,  have 
revolutionized  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  world,  and  sub- 
stituted Christianity  in  the  place  of  idolatry. 

We  have  also  displayed  the  revolutionary  doctrines  and 
tendencies  of  the  innovators  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
have  traced  the  influences  of  the  Puritan  system  founded 
upon  these  doctrines  to  their  practical  results,  both  in  Eu- 
rope and  America.  We  have  demonstrated  that  the  peculiar 
spirit  of  this  Puritan  system  has  pervaded,  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent,  nearly  all  the  sects ;  that,  notwithstanding  the 
innumerable  sectarian  subdivisions  which  had  been  made 
with  a  view  of  avoiding  the  more  objectionable  features  of 
the  system,  the  object  has  never  yet  been  accomplished,  from 
the  simple  fact  that  a  recognition  of  any  07%e  of  the  funda- 
mental dogmas  of  the  Reformation  involves  the  reception  of 
all  the  others.  With  nearly  all  the  sects  there  is  no  mid- 
dle course.  They  must  either  admit  the  entire  creed  of  Cal- 
vinism, with  its  intolerant  Puritan  system,  or  involve  them- 
selves in  religious  systems  which  are  inconsistent  and  un- 
tenable. The  premises  of  Calvin  were  false,  but  his  deduc- 
tions from  them  are  logical.  His  ideas  of  original  sin,  pre- 
destination, and  justification  are  erroneous,  and  lead  directly 
to  mischievous  results,  both  theoretically  and  practically. 
These  false  premises  cling  to  nearly  every  one  of  the  sects, 
however  much  they  may  attempt  to  modify  them,  and  thus 
it  is  that  the  evil  genius  of  Puritanism  has  always  hovered 
over  them. 

We  have  placed  the  Catholic  system  and  the  Puritan 
system  side  by  side,  and  have  examined  the  doctrines  and 
the  tendencies  of  each.  The  reader  must  decide  between 
them. . 


THE    END. 


V 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Lib  ary 


1    1012  01036  7466 


